Bill Cawley: I get in an Uber
and I've got like a, a housewife
was driving me home actually.
It was late at night and I said, "How
long you been Ubering?" She said,
"Uh, five years." I said, "Well,
how long do you work every day?"
she says, "I work until I make a
certain amount of money." I don't
remember what it was, like 300 bucks.
And so she's pulling me into my driveway.
I said, "How close are you
to that 300?" And she says,
whatever it was, "150." Mm-hmm.
I take 150 and I give it to her
and I said, "Go home." And I'm
laying in the ditch and I don't
have any idea where I'm going.
Chase Arrington: Hmm.
Bill Cawley: I don't know
if I'd done enough work.
I had no salvation.
I didn't know about- Yeah … God and
grace You wanna start at the top if you
can, but you w- you find your way in,
and then you outwork everybody else."
Mm.
you're listening to Building
Dallas, hosted by Arrington Roofing.
With 42 years of roofing North
Texas, Arrington Roofing is
building a better roof for you
Reese Arrington: Hello.
Welcome to Building Dallas.
My name is Reese Arrington.
Uh, this is a show about people doing
the work and how Dallas is being
built from the ground to the roof.
Today, I have Bill Cawley.
Uh, he is the chairman and
CEO of Cawley Partners.
He founded it in 1996, and they've
acquired over 15 million square
foot across office, industry,
multifamily right here in DFW.
We're gonna talk about how he
got here and where he's going.
So welcome, Bill Cawley.
I'm happy
Bill Cawley: to be here.
Looking forward to it-
Reese Arrington: Yeah
… Bill Cawley: for
Reese Arrington: sure.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So, uh, I wanna start somewhere
maybe different than- Okay … uh,
than just real estate 'cause you
talked about something really
interesting right when you walked in.
Bill Cawley: Yeah.
Reese Arrington: Uh, you got your blood
taken, and then they swished it around
and then put it back into your body.
Bill Cawley: Yeah.
Reese Arrington: Um-
Bill Cawley: So I went to
a place called Next Health.
Reese Arrington: Mm-hmm.
Bill Cawley: And, um- I'm older, right?
So I'm on the back nine, and
it's all about longevity and
trying to be as healthy as I can-
Mm-hmm … and live as long as I can.
Uh, but it's about quality
days more than just time.
'Cause y- you know, you don't
really realize or think about
how many quality days you've got.
You're gonna get there someday,
but you're a long way away from it.
But I really like working,
so I'm gonna keep working-
Reese Arrington: Yeah
… Bill Cawley: throughout my life.
But, um, so it's… I think
flexibility's really important.
I… So, you know, you see so many
people shuffling their feet and
bent over and not… Bad posture.
So I'm working on all that.
Well, a good friend of mine referred
me to Next Health, which they actually
ta- they filter all the blood out of
your body, and they take up all the
impurities and all the inflammation, and
then put plasma back in in its place.
And I sat there for four hours.
I showed you a picture of it.
Yeah, you showed me a picture.
And it's kinda like taking all the garbage
out of my body that's been there for 70
years- Yeah … and then filtering it.
And I, I didn't feel much
different, but, uh, but, uh,
I have felt less inflammation.
Mm-hmm.
At my age, you deal kinda
with, with arthritis.
It kinda shows up.
I got it in my knees and my thumbs
and stuff, so, um, and it's been
much more manageable since I did it.
Reese Arrington: Yeah, you showed me this
picture of you holding this bag- This big
Bill Cawley: bag of yellow gunk … which
Reese Arrington: looked like,
um, it looked like you had-
Bill Cawley: Yeah
… Reese Arrington: what, four gall-
like almost three- Yeah, it was a lot
three gallons of junk.
Bill Cawley: Yeah.
Reese Arrington: Um,
that, that's just great.
I mean, there's a lot going on in,
in media and just the world, and
people who wanna extend, extend their
life, and longevity is a hot topic.
Um, well-
Bill Cawley: Some people
are spending a ton of money.
I mean, if you look at, like on, on the
next building I build, and I'm looking
at building two buildings right now,
it's gonna be wellness more than workout.
Mm-hmm.
It's gonna be cryotherapy.
It's gonna be red light therapy.
It's gonna be red light sauna.
It's gonna be hyperbaric chamber.
We're gonna put all that stuff
in these buildings and let
people have easy access to it.
Reese Arrington: Yeah.
Bill Cawley: You know, peop-
like I do a, um, a vitamin C
drip, like a, uh, intravenously.
I try to do it a couple times a month.
Reese Arrington: Okay.
Bill Cawley: And they put different
things in just to try to avoid getting
sick, you know- Hmm … for health.
Reese Arrington: Yeah.
How do you, how do you determine…
What's, what's your process for
finding the, the BS, you know?
There's so much out there.
Oh, there- I can't- There's
Bill Cawley: a ton of it.
I agree
… Reese Arrington: I, I can't watch
Instagram or even, you know, any ad that
I might, you know, come up, come up.
I… How do I tell if this
is the real deal or not?
Like, where do you, where
do you go to kinda check?
Bill Cawley: I use referrals.
Mm-hmm.
Like somebody that's experienced
it, that know, is more knowledgeable
than me, that's, that will put
the time in to figure it out.
But I did function health, which
did a bunch of blood testing.
And, you know, I know a lot of
people that think vitamins and
supplements are just wasting money.
And I think we all take supplements,
but we're, we're taking them not
knowing what our body really needs.
So what, what, what, uh, Function Health
does is tells you where you're weak-
Reese Arrington: Hmm
… Bill Cawley: so you can take, take
zinc or vitamin C or D or whatever
it is that your body is lacking in.
And I, I thought that just
made tons of sense to me.
And then on the Next Health thing,
you know, I've got a buddy that's
just, like, a fanatic on, on wellness
and health, and I just draft him.
He does all the work.
Reese Arrington: Gotcha.
Yeah.
Okay.
So it's good to have people in
your life you can trust, you know-
Bill Cawley: Yeah … who
Reese Arrington: can tell you.
Bill Cawley: Well, and I, I think
it's, um, you know, I feel like
it's like s- uh, stem cells.
I mean, um, I've had stem cells
in my right knee, which I think
it bought me 10 years on a knee
replacement, 'cause I'm bone on bone.
But I think there's a lot of people
just pumping stem cells in places
that they're not gonna help, and it…
They're just making a ton of money,
Reese Arrington: but- Yeah, yeah.
Well, and, and- But we're all
Bill Cawley: trying
… Reese Arrington: and you don't only do
these really awesome, cool scientific,
uh, procedures, like getting your
blood taken out and putting it back in.
You're- you do functional health.
Like, you told me you did P90X,
you know, for the past 20 years.
Bill Cawley: Yeah, so I started doing
P90X- Yeah … like 20 years ago.
Mm-hmm.
And, um, you know, it, it
doesn't wear your body down.
You know, you're using your body weight.
Like this morning I did chest
and back, so you know, I don't
know, I did a lot of pushups.
Mm-hmm.
And it just works for
me, keeps me flexible.
I try to do yoga and stretching,
but, um, I don't do as much, like,
jumping around stuff, 'cause my
legs, my knees can't take it.
Reese Arrington: Mm-hmm.
Bill Cawley: So my cardio is either
a, um- Treadmill on an incline or
five-mile walks with my wife, so.
Reese Arrington: Okay.
Bill Cawley: And, a- a- you know, and I,
I don't think you can outrun the fork.
It's all about what you eat, I think.
Reese Arrington: Yeah.
Okay, so do you have, like, a
diet you stick to pretty strictly?
Bill Cawley: I mean, I believe
everybody should eat french
fries as often as possible.
Okay.
So I'm gonna do whatever it
takes to keep doing that.
And I think a cheeseburger
is, uh, a staple.
Uh-huh.
You gotta eat cheeseburgers.
But other than that, I try to be
really good Monday through Friday.
Reese Arrington: Yeah.
Bill Cawley: Then weekends, I blow it out.
Reese Arrington: Sounds like
there's balance in your life
Bill Cawley: there.
Yeah, try to be.
Reese Arrington: Yeah.
Bill Cawley: Yeah.
Reese Arrington: Great.
Well so when did that, when did you
start getting on that health kick?
Have you always been like that?
Bill Cawley: Um, I've always,
um, um… Early in my life-
Mm-hmm … I was a big drinker.
Okay.
And I was fast food and drinking.
And, uh, it got to where the
drinking got out of hand, so
I quit drinking 40 years ago.
And then when I quit, I went
to a counselor to kinda quit,
'cause I wanted to go understand.
I tried every way I could to keep
drinking, and I realized it was easier
to quit than to try to manage it.
And he told me that you need to go
find, you're an, you have an addictive
personality, and he said, "You need to
go find positive things to get into."
So I was a smoker.
I was pretty much overweight.
I had a, you know, I was
built like a bowling pin.
Chase Arrington: Mm.
Bill Cawley: And, um, so when I quit
drinking then I, uh, wanted to quit
smoking, 'cause I was three packs a day.
Chase Arrington: Wow.
Bill Cawley: So I started working.
I made a list of everything.
But you, you kinda gotta conquer things
one at a time, but I got into working out.
Yeah.
And, and I felt better.
I felt better than I've ever felt.
Mm. And, um, I just feel
guilty if I don't do it.
Reese Arrington: Yeah.
Bill Cawley: And that, you know, I
kinda got the guilts, 'cause of the
addictive personality, like on work and-
Mm-hmm … like now I take more time off
than I ever used to, but I mean, I should.
Yeah.
I'm not supposed to be
working at this age.
Reese Arrington: Well,
no, that's impressive.
I mean, there's people that never
figure that out their entire life.
Bill Cawley: Right, and, and- And they
still live with it … they pay for it.
I mean- Yeah … you can see it.
It's, uh, we all know people that
That haven't focused on that,
and but there, there's… I, I,
I think you reap what you sow.
Mm-hmm.
I think, uh, I think in life you
give, you g- and you don't, you
don't give to get, but if you keep
giving, giving's better than getting.
Reese Arrington: Yeah.
Bill Cawley: And the more you give,
the more blessed I think you are.
Mm-hmm.
And it's, I think, you know, your
life's gonna be what you make of
it, and you gotta, you gotta protect
the frame, 'cause I mean- Yeah
what do I got other than this, right?
Reese Arrington: Mm-hmm.
Yeah, there was something really
interesting, uh, that Steve-O… So
you know Steve-O, the guy from Jackass?
For
Bill Cawley: sure.
Reese Arrington: Yeah.
He made a really great comment,
because he w- he was an addict and
got- Totally … really messed up.
He said that hi- his addiction
became so unmanageable that it was
really going to destroy his life.
Bill Cawley: Yeah.
Reese Arrington: But that the
worst, the, the worst you can have
it is it, it just steals enough
from you that you can keep going.
Like-
Bill Cawley: So I know so many people
that can manage it- Mm-hmm … and
they're, they're really not managing
it, 'cause they're not, they don't
have the quality of life that you and
I have because they're addicted to
whatever, alcohol or drugs, whatever.
But for me, it was unmanageable.
I was a quart of s- scotch every day.
Reese Arrington: Oh, wow.
Bill Cawley: And, you know,
then I started doing drugs and-
Reese Arrington: Wow
… Bill Cawley: and I look at that now and I
just go, I mean, anybody that would wanna
go do that stuff I think is crazy, right?
Yeah.
But I mean, you know, w- when you're
in it, you're around people that are
in it as well, and it becomes normal.
Chase Arrington: Mm-hmm.
Bill Cawley: And so, like, what I had
to do when I got sober was totally
change up everything in my life.
Friends.
Uh, you know, uh, there's some friends
I still have, um, but very few.
You know, the ones that really
mattered are still my friends.
Reese Arrington: Yeah, and it's not
about your life having to be destroyed.
Uh, I think for me, in my decisions
and, you know, the things that I might
do with, you know, alcohol, is how
much of my potential do I really want?
And h- and how much am I
willing to leave on the table?
Uh, and if it's anything less
than 100% of my potential, you
know, is it something worth-
Bill Cawley: Does it feel right, right?
Reese Arrington: No, it doesn't
feel right, and that's tough,
and I think that, you know, that,
that's tied to purposeful work.
You know, uh, what, what is it
that I'm working towards is,
you know, what are my goals?
And then what we think about life.
Yeah.
I mean, you know, if I have a perspective
that this life is all that I can-
that all there is, you know, this is
it, then why not just soak up all the
pleasure that I can while I'm here?
Bill Cawley: Yeah.
Reese Arrington: Right?
And I think for me, uh, in
my faith, is that, yeah, I
go, "You know, this isn't it.
This isn't all there is." Yeah. And,
and whenever I make bad decisions
or, or decisions for pleasure,
I'm reverting back to a mindset
that tells me, "This is it, Reese.
Go get it or it's gone."
Bill Cawley: Yeah.
Reese Arrington: And
I'm believing that lie.
Bill Cawley: Or how about when you know
you're gonna do something wrong, the
Holy Spirit's in there saying, "Don't
do it, big boy," and then you go do
it, and then you got the guilts, right?
But the blessing of s- of, uh, having a
faith and understanding that God died for
your sins and that you're going to heaven
is you're getting there by grace, not
by… 'Cause we're all meatheads, right?
Yeah.
We can't be perfect.
And I had a, I came to
faith late in life at 47.
I was in an accident and thought I was
taking my last breath, and I've lived
half my life without God in my life,
and this half with, and God's better.
And, um, you know, uh,
the peace that you get.
I'm at morning prayer, like I'm in the
Bi- I was in the Bible this morning.
Um, I'm in Exodus right now, so it's
kinda a little bit boring, but… And
I've got a prayer journal that I pray
for people every day, and, and the
praying for people is so intimate.
Like, y- I send little, uh, prayer
emojis to people that I pray for.
And, uh, it's created so many
really bonding friendships.
'Cause people say, "Hey, I'll
pray for you." I think you
gotta do it if you say it.
And so I try to be really disciplined
and, but faith's a big part of my life.
But I will say this, I didn't
wanna live a normal life.
I wanted to, to press myself as far as I
could to have, to maximize my abilities.
And I came from broke- And a drunk and
nobody believing me or respecting me,
'cause I l- you lie a lot when you drink
a lot, to going, okay, if anybody would
ever respect me and believe me or have
faith in me, it'd be a big day for me.
So I started from the ditch
and built up from there.
And I knew I wanted to, to l- live
as big as a life as I could, not with
money and stuff, but my, my abilities.
And it's one of the reasons I came from
the Midwest and I came to Dallas and
I, on a vacation, and I saw Dallas and
I said, "I'm coming here." And I left
a family business, uh, with my dad and
I said, "Dad, I'm gonna go try Texas."
And I came here and it worked out.
Yeah.
Reese Arrington: You know, we're
talking about faith and- Yeah
and how you started out.
Um, s- you had a transformation.
You were somebody and you became
somebody else later in life.
And a lot of people at that stage,
they might give up or just think
that they're, you know, gonna be
the same way they are forever.
Where, you know, on the journey to
spiritual transformation, and you're
at one point suppressing the spirit or
don't have the spirit or whatever- Yeah
or where you were at.
How did you cultivate the
spirit forming in you?
What, what did you do?
Bill Cawley: 'Cause I think
the spirit came after me.
So I was born and raised in the Midwest,
and we, I was a Catholic, right?
And nothing against the
Catholic faith, but I would go
to church and check the box.
So I'd be in church.
It was a commitment of an hour.
There was no relationship with God.
I would sit there making my list of what
I was gonna do as soon as I got out.
Go play golf, whatever I was gonna do.
I had to cut the grass when I was
living at home, whatever it was.
But my faith was, or my religion
was showing up in church
for an hour every Sunday.
Mm. So when I was 47, I
was on a motorcycle trip to
Aspen for the Fourth of July.
I was a bachelor.
I got married young, divorced.
I drank myself out of my
marriage and then got sober.
And so I'm sober, my
business is taking off.
And I was a consumer.
So like I would be, I wanted stuff and
I would date, uh, with no intimacy.
Mm. And I was just a, a, a consumer.
The, not the kind of person
I would be proud to be today.
So I'm on this motorcycle r- uh, trip
and I run, get run off the road and I'm
laying in a ditch thinking I'm dying.
And it was bad.
I had nine surgeries
over a year on my arms.
And I'm laying there thinking, you know,
the blood's gonna come out of your mouth
and you're taking your last breath.
And for 20 years I hadn't
prayed or thought about God.
And I'm laying in the ditch and I
don't have any idea where I'm going.
Chase Arrington: Hmm.
Bill Cawley: I don't know
if I'd done enough work.
I had no salvation.
I didn't know about- Yeah … God and
grace and… And so I started making
a deal, 'cause I'm a real estate guy.
And I said to God, I said…
And I started thinking about what my
what I had done in my life and what
my, my, what I had accomplished,
and it's not about real estate.
It's in my personal life.
I was estranged from my kids because they
were mad at me for being an alcoholic.
I had made amends to them, but I
hadn't repaired the relationships.
I just felt if I go out
this way, this is not good.
I haven't done… I've been a consumer.
And so I, it just, I, I started
praying and begging God.
I said, "If you let me live, I'm
gonna change it up." So I didn't die.
I crawl up the side of the road.
They take me to a hospital.
I have a bunch of surgeries over a year.
I'm in bed, and I would, um,
my arm's biggest piece of bone
from my wrist to my elbow was an
inch, so it was like a puzzle.
So they had to put metal
rods on the outside.
So I couldn't brush my teeth.
I mean, y- I couldn't do anything.
And they had to go back and
rebreak them so I could supinate.
Reese Arrington: Oh my gosh.
Bill Cawley: Anyway, um, so I s-
made a deal, and as I got better,
I went back to the Catholic Church,
and again, I'm sitting there,
and I'm making my to-do list.
God kept putting people in my
life, and, um, I had bought a
house when I left to go on this
motorcycle trip, and it had a pool.
My other house didn't have a pool.
I was a bachelor.
Chase Arrington: Mm-hmm.
Bill Cawley: And they said, "What do you
wanna do about the pool guy?" I said,
"Just get the guy that was doing it for
the last guy." So I'm in the hospital,
and my friends move me into my house.
So I go to that house, and on
Saturdays, I got my arms up in the air.
They'd wheel me out and let me sit on
the pool deck, cat- catch some sun.
Reese Arrington: Uh-huh.
Bill Cawley: Couldn't move if I wanted to.
Reese Arrington: Right.
Bill Cawley: Pool guy comes.
Big guy.
He's a, uh, Christian Life Assembly
pastor cleaning pools for extra money.
Reese Arrington: Wow.
Bill Cawley: So he comes up to me, and
he… Big burly guy, and he goes, uh,
"What happened?" And I told him, and
I told him a- about my… I didn't,
I didn't know he was a pastor at all.
And I said, "Hey, I'm, you
know, here's what I'm at.
I'm looking for… I'm changing my life.
This is, you know, seeking God.
I want a, I want a different life." So the
next Saturday, he showed up with a Walkman
Stuck it in my, my ear and played it.
It had a cassette tape, and I
couldn't have shut it off if I
wanted to 'cause I'm like this.
Chase Arrington: Mm-hmm.
Bill Cawley: And eventually I started
wanting… Couldn't wait for him to
come, and then we'd have a discussion
after he cleaned the pool about what
he just, what I just listened to.
And then God kept putting people
in my life and, uh, so this
happened 4th of July, and in March
I accepted Christ on my pool deck.
Reese Arrington: Wow.
Bill Cawley: And so I
asked God into my life.
Mm-hmm.
So then it was euphoric for me.
It was immediate change.
Reese Arrington: Mm-hmm.
Bill Cawley: So it was like I
had to change everything up.
And, um, I was dating a girl that
I, I broke up with and it, it took a
while for me to be transformed, even
though I had euphoria day one, but to,
to get convicted about the sin that
I was used to having and living in.
And it, it, you know, I went and worked
on my relationship with my kids and,
and, um, I just cleaned up everything.
Mm-hmm.
And I just grew in my faith.
And today, you know, a big part of
just continuing to work is to have
conversations like this- Yeah … and
share faith because I think salvation is
more important than a real estate deal.
Mm-hmm.
And there's so many people that
are living their life without the
peace you and I have because of our
faith, and it's really important.
And so I have visibility 'cause I've
been around a long time, and a lot of
people come to me for, for help, and the
first thing they get from me is Jesus.
That's wonderful.
Now, a lot of rejection-
Reese Arrington: Yeah
… Bill Cawley: but never had
anybody get upset about it.
I've had people reject and
then come back and accept.
Mm. So I'll tell you one story and then-
Reese Arrington: Yeah
… Bill Cawley: my older brother,
Dan, very close, shared my faith
with him 10 times if there was one.
He comes to play with me and the member
guest at Preston Trail every year.
He, myself, and my wife Keely are sitting
at dinner, and I looked at her and I
said, "Isn't it great knowing we're
going to heaven?" Just off the cuff.
And he looks at me and he goes, "How
do you know you're going to heaven?"
I said, "I know I'm going." I said,
"Keely, do you know you're going?"
"Yep." I always carry tracts in my
car, uh, that John Maisel gave me from
East-West Ministries that talk about
pain separating you from God and how you,
how you can ask Christ into your life.
I'm taking him to the airport, talking
to him about Jesus, hand him the
two tracts, put him on the airplane.
When he lands, he says,
"I'm in. I'm saved." Wow.
Every Sunday for probably Seven,
eight years, when I'd come out
of church, I'd have a voicemail
from my brother- … on my phone
thanking me for not giving up on him-
Reese Arrington: Yeah
Bill Cawley: because of the
peace he has in his life.
So if that doesn't make you wanna do it,
I mean, it's just, I can tell you many
stories like that- Mm-hmm … that, uh,
are life-changing for me- Yeah … too.
Reese Arrington: Well, and you know,
I think people try to find a logical,
uh, path to salvation or to Jesus
when truly, I think, like you said,
there's a spiritual thing that, a
real spiritual thing that happened
in you that, uh, convicted you.
Yeah.
Right?
Because I think there's
a lot of good evidence.
I mean, I can g- and I'd
always read about apologetics.
I wanna know, you know, w- what is
the evidence for the, um, the, the
authenticity of religion and the truth
of, of, of this Christian religion.
Um, but you can't explain it all
the way with logic and reason.
You have to go, okay- It's
Bill Cawley: faith
… Reese Arrington: uh, yeah, there, there's
something that, that happens in us that
w- it's a meeting of Jesus, you know?
And then the next part of that,
which is the hardest part, is, is
letting everything you knew and
experienced and were going after go.
And I think to do that, to truly go
through transformation, John Mark
Comer has a book, uh, called Practicing
the Way, and he talks about how, um,
Jewish boys, you know, back in Jesus'
time, they would follow around their
rabbis like, you know, a lost puppy.
I mean, they would just go everywhere
they went, and one of the terms they used
was be covered in the dust of your rabbi.
That was what we were called to be is
be covered in the dust of your rabbi.
What that looks like is being so
close behind Jesus that you're just
completely covered in- Yeah … uh,
the dust that he, that he's,
that he's, that he's stirring up.
Yeah.
And, and, uh, if we, if we look
at spir- spiritual transformation,
you said that you got into prayer.
You spent your mornings with Christ.
It's that action.
It's, it's not, you know, the
transformation's one thing, but then
it's the dedication to following
Christ and then becoming, uh, more
like him because of your proximity,
and then finally just doing as he did.
And I, you know, that is the goal, at
least for myself in my Christian walk,
is- Right … to just keep following.
So th- there's can be a lostness
that we have after this sp- spiritual
transformation that we have to
find dedication to just show up
and be with Jesus, and if we can
just show up and be with Jesus,
he'll do the transformation for
Bill Cawley: us.
I mean, it's like, uh, like I think,
I don't think I would've found Christ
if I'd have stayed in the Midwest.
I mean, I love my parents.
I believed that the faith
that I was practicing then
was the way to do it, right?
Mm-hmm.
And the thing that I find when I sh-
when we talk, I talk to people about
God is they believe what they've been
taught or what they've been through.
Like I, I, I talked to a A
couple, uh, at a birthday party.
My wife was kicking me under the table
telling me to stop talking about it, but-
Reese Arrington: Mm-hmm
… Bill Cawley: I mean, she's all in for
me sharing my faith, but she thought
it wasn't- … the right setting.
Ah,
Reese Arrington: yeah.
Bill Cawley: No faith in their family.
No, I get it.
Yeah.
No God at all.
Reese Arrington: Mm-hmm.
Bill Cawley: And I said, "Really?"
I said, "So when you're nervous
and you're scared, what do you
do?" I said, "Do you just worry?
Or you go talk to the neighbor
about what I'm supposed to do?"
Reese Arrington: Mm-hmm.
Bill Cawley: Like, oh, I, I, I got a good
s- I had a buddy that was, uh, that was
coaching, uh, basketball with me when my
kids were young, and he was an atheist.
Reese Arrington: Hmm.
Bill Cawley: And he came up to me and
he goes, "Can I be your assistant?"
I didn't know what I was doing.
I was just an- I was
just coaching my kids.
And he goes, "But I got one request if
I do." And I go, "What is it?" He goes,
"I don't want you to talk about God
'cause I'm, I don't believe in Him." And
I said, "Well, I'm gonna tell you what."
I said, "I would love to have you as, as
my assistant, but I'm gonna talk about God
all the time." And I said, "Probably more,
since you told me you're an atheist."
Chase Arrington: Wow.
Bill Cawley: And I, "So, so that's
the deal. Let's go." Mm-hmm.
And he, he did, and we became
close, and I would, I, I talked
to him about God all the time.
He goes through a divorce.
He comes to me, me, and he's sitting
in my, my room- my office, and he said,
"I, I, I… What do I do?" And I said,
"Well, my advice to you would be to pray
and turn over, turn it to God." I said,
"You have to save your marriage because
it's, it's, you know, y- you have to fight
for your marriage, so whatever that is.
But I can't give you advice because
my advice is give it to God-
Reese Arrington: Right
Bill Cawley: and turn to God-
Reese Arrington: Wow
… Bill Cawley: for peace." And, and I,
I was trying to make a point, right?
He ended up becoming a Buddhist.
Wow.
And he came back to me and he told me
he's a Buddhist, and I go, "Really?" I
mean, so you go from not believing in
anything to believing in a, a statue?
I mean- Mm. And again, I mean, everybody
makes decisions in life, but there's
no more important decision than that.
Like, my kids, I've got four.
Mm-hmm.
Two of them are walking strong
in their faith, and two of
them are kind of on the fence.
Mm-hmm.
And there's, the older
kids saw me as a drunk.
My young kids have seen me
in the Bible every morning.
They're still dealing
with the world, right?
Yeah.
The world is, the world sucks up.
Yeah.
The devil's winning here.
Yeah.
But, but I'm grateful.
Mm-hmm.
And, um, I'm not ashamed of it.
I don't wanna wear anybody out about it.
Reese Arrington: Yeah,
Bill Cawley: right.
Um, I, I, you know, I think you h- I
think you can't lead with your faith.
I think you have to lead with
a, being a quality person, and
there has to be some relationship
before your faith becomes genuine.
'Cause there's people that lead with their
faith that are not genuine, and I think
it's really important just to be real.
Reese Arrington: Yeah.
I mean, I made that mistake in college.
I'd wanna start by winning
the faith argument, and then
eventually I went, "You know what?
I, I haven't earned it in this, in this
relationship- There's no relationship
in my life." Right. And so I kind
of focused saying, "You know what?
I, I just wanna l- if I can just pray
that Jesus will help me see them how
He sees them- Yeah … and then I
can love them, He, He will give me an
opportunity." A guy in our office always
says, "Hey, all God asks of you is,
is…" He says, "Hey, I'm doing something.
Are you gonna work with me or against me?"
Bill Cawley: Yeah.
Reese Arrington: And that means, are
you gonna act in love or selfishness?
Yeah.
You know?
And, and those are kind of
the paths we have to take.
Um, and And I, and yeah, and I, I mean,
I could talk about this all day long.
You know, I think the definition
of insanity is, is, you know, doing
the same thing over and over again
and expecting different results.
I think that's why a lot
of people come to Christ.
I know that I thought I could be in
charge and make all the decisions in
my life, and I'd get where I wanted
to go, and I realized it left me
dissatisfied, and that's when I really
went, "You know what? I'm not good at
driving this- Yeah … bus." You know?
This, whatever- Never gonna work
whatever this is.
And, and, you know, there's
times when I really wanna jump
back in the driver's seat.
I really do.
And sometimes I do.
Sometimes- It's human nature … yeah,
and sometimes I kick Jesus into
the passenger seat, and sometimes
I kick him out of the car, and I
drive a few miles down the road.
Everybody does.
But yeah, but whenever that
happens, I end, I like, you know,
I end up in a ditch somewhere.
Bill Cawley: Yeah.
Reese Arrington: You know?
And, and yeah.
Bill Cawley: As long as you keep
turning back to him, you know?
Reese Arrington: Yeah.
Bill Cawley: I, I've lived it both ways.
I mean, I've done it both
ways, and I'm telling you,
when you know, this is better.
Yeah.
And, um, listen, I'm a better person.
Like, I used to worry that
people would figure me out.
Reese Arrington: Mm.
Bill Cawley: I'm fine if you figure
me out- Yeah … 'cause this is it.
Reese Arrington: Yeah.
Bill Cawley: And, uh, one of the
things that changed in me from
the accident was being more open.
You know?
Hmm.
And, uh, like- Mm-hmm … talking
about my alcoholism and… 'Cause I
think all that stuff brings opportunity
f- for you to help people, so.
Reese Arrington: So I, I- So many
Bill Cawley: people are hurting
Reese Arrington: out there, you know?
You, we don't know what
they're going through-
Bill Cawley: Right … and
Reese Arrington: who's gonna relate.
Bill Cawley: A- a- and listen,
everybody wants to give people
in life a, a second chance.
There's a ton of them, right?
Everybody, you know, there's so many
people dealing with different things in
life, and, um, it's all on God's time.
Mm. And you know, the thing
about it is, it's our job to
just show up and talk about Him.
It's the Holy Spirit's
job to change their heart.
Reese Arrington: Yeah.
Bill Cawley: And so-
Reese Arrington: That's so true.
Bill Cawley: That's a good
one … I mean, and you know what?
Yeah.
But I do always have a sense of
urgency because you never know
what's gonna happen in life, right?
Yeah.
Reese Arrington: No, I love…
I mean, you're so right.
We, we do not have the power
to truly change anybody.
It's all, it's the Holy Spirit's, Jesus.
Um, we just gotta, you know, kind
of do what God's calling us to do.
Um, so thank you for going
there- Yeah … with me.
Um, you know, there's there's so much
more we wanna talk about on actual,
uh, what you've done in Dallas.
Yeah.
And, and I think it's good that we
start with the faith because at the
end of the day, no matter how many
cool things that you got to do here,
uh, there's nothing cooler than
getting to know your Creator, right?
Yeah.
But, uh, let's go back to, you
know, you're not from Dallas.
Bill Cawley: No.
Reese Arrington: Right?
So tell me how, just give me a kind of
the, the SparkNotes on how you got here.
Bill Cawley: So, I mean, I was,
uh, born in the Midwest, right?
And I was, loved my dad.
I looked up to him, and like when
we were five or six years old and we
were playing, you know, everybody,
somebody's an astronaut or a cowboy.
I was always a real estate guy.
I didn't know what it meant,
but it was always my only option
because I just loved my dad.
I looked up to him.
And we're in this small town in
Illinois, and, um, 8,000 people.
I go away to college.
I come back, and my, my
goal was to work for my dad.
So I went to work for my dad,
and I realized, you know,
I took to it right away.
Like, I mean, I was selling houses.
I was leasing storefronts.
We were doing small build-to-suits.
And I took to it.
I was, I, I, I just, it
was, I was a natural.
For some reason, it came easy.
And to me, I think everybody
has a unique ability.
Mine is communication.
I, I mean, I'm not a detail guy.
If you want detail, I've got a
bunch of people that work for me
that do that, but I'm 10,000 feet.
But, but I'm relational.
And it, it, but, and, but people
need to know that it's real, right?
So, um, I realized really quickly
that the deal sizes that I was
doing there, um, weren't big enough.
So I thought I, I couldn't make, I
couldn't make the living I wanted to make.
And, and I didn't have a goal for an
amount of money, but I just wanted
to be able to play as big as I could.
No idea how to do it- Right … but
that was my… I was driven.
So I started driving to
Chicago and tying up land.
It's when fast food was blowing up.
Reese Arrington: Mm.
Bill Cawley: And it
was in the '70s, right?
And so, um, '60s and '70s, and, uh, I
would tie up… I didn't have any money,
but I would go… The, the market was
a lot less efficient than it is today.
I'd go tie up three acres, and then I'd
go show it to McDonald's, Burger King,
Arby's, and if I could get one guy to
buy, they'd pay for the whole thing, and
then I'd sell off the other two pads.
Mm.
Reese Arrington: Mm.
Bill Cawley: I came to Dallas on a
vacation with a buddy, and I saw they
were building buildings everywhere.
It's kind of right before the RTC
days when everything blew up, and
I just said, "Wow, this is…"
You know.
I think one of the… Other than
my faith, one of the… and my
wife, the biggest decision I made
in my life was to come to Dallas.
Reese Arrington: Yeah.
Bill Cawley: It's the best place in the
country and will be for a long time-
Reese Arrington: Mm-hmm
… Bill Cawley: to be in the business I'm
in, 'cause this town loves growth, and,
and it welcomes people from out of town.
Like, when I came here, like,
Chicago and Illinois was cliquey.
If you didn't know the right people,
it was hard to break through.
Mm-hmm.
Here, everybody helped me.
Reese Arrington: Yeah.
Bill Cawley: And so I came here, and,
and I didn't have any money, and I
knew I wanted to be a developer 'cause
I thought office buildings were cool.
Reese Arrington: Mm-hmm.
Bill Cawley: So I decided, "Okay,
how can I go make enough money
To, to be able to be a developer to
where I had, I had to have capital.
Reese Arrington: Yeah.
Yeah.
Bill Cawley: So I became a broker
and I negotiated leases for corporate
clients and, and, uh, I actually
built a really nice business.
Um, and my base case was companies
with 50 locations or more.
So I could have one relationship and
I'd do 10 leases a year 'cause they
were doing five-year leases then.
And so I could just keep the relationship.
And I built a business or myself
and the people that worked for me.
I hired, um Several young girls
that were really smart and
attractive, they would open doors.
Reese Arrington: Hmm.
Bill Cawley: And then I took all
the detail guys and I salaried
them, the guys who d-d-did the work.
Reese Arrington: Sure.
Bill Cawley: And over, like,
seven years, I grew to-- Well, we
were doing, like, three to 3,500
leases a year across the country.
Wow.
So I started tracking
information in all these markets.
It was-- Now, the market was
dis-depressed because of the RTC days.
And so you go to San, San
Jose, California, and there'd
be nine buildings vacant.
I'd go back there 18 months
later, there were six.
Chase Arrington: Hmm.
Bill Cawley: Go back there another
year later, and there's, like,
that gets down to three, and I go,
"Somebody needs to buy one of these
buildings 'cause they're gonna lease."
You could just see it happening.
Reese Arrington: Right.
Bill Cawley: And so then I started going,
and I tracked all this information,
kept all the information on lease
comps, and then I started showing
it to indus-institutional money.
And then I didn't have any money,
but they, they agreed with me,
and so we bought a building.
And my promote or my piece of the deal
was very thin 'cause I didn't have any
money to put in, but I was in the game.
And that-- Then I started, um,
using my relationships as a broker.
Like, if they wanted to build
a building, I go, "Well, why
should I go to somebody else?
Let me just build it.
I'll make a fair spread,
whatever is in the market.
We don't have an adversarial position
where you have to negotiate a lease." Hmm.
"I can simplify this."
Yeah.
And so I got into the development game.
Okay.
And then within that
time, I picked Mid-Tollway.
I thought Galleria going north,
it's kinda the connector.
It's the middle of the metroplex.
Like, today, Uptown is
the number one market.
Preston Center is number two.
Mid-Tollway's number three, and then far
north is four, and it-- Like Legacy,
Legacy West, going up into Frisco, 121.
There's-- For a long time,
it was Uptown and way north.
Chase Arrington: Mm-hmm.
Bill Cawley: And everybody realized
the middle made a bunch of sense.
So I s- I've probably… You know,
the-- I will tell you a story.
So I, I, I wanted to build a building.
I had an architect I did a, uh, lease
for, and I went to the architect and
I said, "Listen, if I can get a piece
of land, will you design a rendering
and a site plan and a floor plan for me
for free 'cause I don't have any money?
And if I pull this off, if I
can get it leased, I'll hire you
to design the building." Done.
Nobody built a building in Dallas
for years 'cause it was just so
slow- Hmm … 'cause of the RTC days.
I went to Denny Holman at,
um, uh, Folsom Companies.
They had a site, um, up at Westgrove, and
I went to him and I said, "Hey, I don't
have any money, but I think if I can-- If
you give me some time on this site, I can
get, get a building designed and leased."
And he looked at me and he goes, "You
don't have any money?" I said, "No, I
don't have any money." And he said, "Well,
I haven't had anybody want to buy office
land for a long time, so I'm gonna give
you the time." And he gave me 90 days.
And the, the deal was I'd come
back to him in 90 days and tell
him what kind of progress I made.
You probably couldn't do this today.
But so after 90 days, I had a building
and a rendering and a site plan, and
I had an insurance company that wanted
half, half the building, not in leases.
And I go back to him and I go, "Okay.
Can you give me another 90 days?"
Reese Arrington: They wanted
to buy half the building or-
Bill Cawley: They were gonna lease it.
Reese Arrington: Oh, no, I
thought you said not in leas- Oh.
Bill Cawley: No, they were gonna, they
were gonna lease half the building.
Reese Arrington: Okay.
Bill Cawley: So I knew I could, I
could go get a loan and get the equity.
Reese Arrington: Mm.
Bill Cawley: But I didn't have it yet.
Reese Arrington: Mm-hmm.
Bill Cawley: At the same time, I got
another site at Keller Springs and
the Tollway from the same people, the
Folsoms, and I tied up both those sites.
I had the same architect design
that building And I knew Sun
Microsystems was over off of
Preston Road looking for space.
They were 150,000 feet.
Like, I'd never done a
deal that big in my life.
Reese Arrington: Wow.
Bill Cawley: Designed the
building real efficient.
So one of the things you realized as
a broker was developers were building
beautiful buildings that were inefficient.
They made no sense.
Mm-hmm.
And I learned- Mm … what people
really wanted, so I was giving them
what they wanted: square, rectangular,
high, high ceilings, lots of glass.
Bottom line, both of those
buildings, I pr- Sun Microsystems
came and took 150,000 feet.
The insurance company took the other.
I had two buildings going
within a year from zero.
Reese Arrington: Wow.
Bill Cawley: I kept waiting when
I went to meetings for them to
ask me if I'd ever built anything.
No one ever asked.
I kept waiting.
I'd go in.
They'd go… You know, they just
assumed I knew what I was doing.
It was awesome.
Reese Arrington: Yeah.
Bill Cawley: And then the
next one was JPMorgan Chase.
I built a million square feet for them
at a, uh, just between, um, Beltline
and Spring Valley on the tollway.
Reese Arrington: So you saw
this market gap in Dallas-
Bill Cawley: Yeah
… Reese Arrington: where it was expanding.
Bill Cawley: Yeah.
Reese Arrington: And you thought
they need more office space.
Yeah.
And so you, and so you just
ma- That transition probably
felt somewhat natural, right?
Bill Cawley: Well, right.
But I had to convince
capital, 'cause I had none-
Reese Arrington: Mm-hmm
… Bill Cawley: to do it.
And, um, I really thought
my lack of experience…
I went and hired, or ma-made a guy
a partner, my- Mm … Steve Platt,
that knew construction really well.
Mm. So, like, when there was any kinda
detailed questions, he could answer them.
But, um, yeah, I, I, I knew the middle
made sense, and you could see the market
starting to take off, just like right now.
I think the office
market's about to blow up.
Mm. And, um, I think, I don't
wanna be as early as I wanted
to be when I was your age.
I wanna have a clear path to
recovery today before I make a bet.
Mm-hmm.
But when I was your age, I
didn't care about downside,
'cause I didn't have anything.
It was all about upside.
Reese Arrington: Right.
Bill Cawley: But it's pretty miraculous
that, like, we ended up building,
um, a million two, a million five,
a million seven square feet from s-
dead stop zero in, within three years.
Reese Arrington: Wow.
So when you have that much growth,
I mean, like you said, you weren't
worried about things failing,
because you didn't have much to lose.
But I mean, were, were there some, there
had to have been some times where you're
not sleeping too great at night, right?
Bill Cawley: Right.
Well, I mean, um, I was really excited
about the opportunity, because I,
I have been so broke, um- Where,
you know, I had no money to pay
my utilities, and I've been there.
And so this was just momentum.
And I think in life, the number
one thing you have to do if, if you
get momentum, you gotta keep it.
Reese Arrington: Mm-hmm.
Bill Cawley: So many people have
something good happen to them, they
make a big check, and they quit working.
It made me wanna work harder.
It made me wanted to chase
more because I had momentum.
And when you lose momentum, it's
so hard to get it back, and I
didn't wanna lose that momentum.
And I've been through that in my life.
Like, I had… I was the n- number
one developer in Dallas when
I was doing this from nowhere.
Reese Arrington: Yeah.
Bill Cawley: And then I got distracted,
and now I'm, I'm fighting my way back.
But, um, I mean, and again, um, people
wanna do business with people that
they think are reliable and they like.
Chase Arrington: Mm-hmm.
Bill Cawley: Like, so being nice is
number one, being easy to work with.
You know, just be relational 'cause
there's always a common ground.
It has to work for both people.
But if you think you're gonna try
to win in a relationship, you're
gonna do one deal with that person
or that company, and they're never
gonna do another one with you.
Reese Arrington: Yeah.
Bill Cawley: And anybody that works that
way, in my opinion, is shortsighted.
Mm-hmm.
And so I've always tried
to be really relational.
Even when I d- I think they've
been somewhat unreasonable, I
try to find a common ground.
Reese Arrington: Mm-hmm.
And there's so many people that
have these dreams and goals.
I mean, you wanted to play
in the big leagues, right?
And there's so many people that
might kinda see that lifestyle
and they, they want it, but they
never even go out there and try.
Um,
Bill Cawley: and- Yeah, I think
that self-confidence or, you know,
wherever you are in your… Like, I
think my faith, uh, gave me the peace.
And the more I liked myself, I think
I got a lot better at this because- Mm
I was just being real, right?
Reese Arrington: Yeah.
Bill Cawley: And like, um…
Reese Arrington: You had to believe though
at some point, right, that it could happen
without seeing the entire road forward?
Bill Cawley: Well, let me say this.
Like, were, were you- I had
no… I wanted it more than I
was worried about being rejected.
Reese Arrington: Hmm.
Bill Cawley: So, like, I think
there's one reason I have a business.
It's because I kept going.
I just kept going.
And, um, when somebody needed
to be called, like, I would find
ways to get in front of people.
And, uh, like one… There's a
company b- doing a build-a-suit,
and they didn't know me.
And I go to see the, uh… I used
to go right into their space, and I
talked to his, the girl at the front
desk, and I got to know her She says,
"Listen, he's not gonna see you."
I said, "Does, does he have kids?"
And he goes, she says, "Yeah." I said,
"Does he coaches their team?" "Yeah."
I said, "When's he, when's he have
practice?" So I go to soccer practice.
Reese Arrington: Wow.
Bill Cawley: And I sit on the
bleachers or stood there, and
it took four soccer practices.
I'm sitting there doing emails
or whatever I'm doing, you know?
It was probably before cell phones.
So anyway, sitting there, 'cause
you can't be lurking, right?
The guy's gonna go, "What
the hell are you doing here?"
Reese Arrington: Yeah.
Bill Cawley: I just waited and waited,
and pretty soon we're talking and,
and, um, I built him a building.
Reese Arrington: Wow.
Bill Cawley: And so it was just trying
to be creative and finding ways to…
And now, like, I've been doing
it long enough that I get warm
referrals, which are the best.
Mm. 'Cause people, you know, people
have had a good experience, so they tell
people to come do business with you.
And it makes it e- it
doesn't mean you win, but-
Reese Arrington: Well
… Bill Cawley: it helps you.
Reese Arrington: Yeah, it's, it's
like, you know, so much of our
self-worth is tied up in what people
think about us sometimes that we
get, we s- we get so petrified of,
of being a bother, being annoying.
I mean, with my sales team, I have to
remind them, "Hey, if we have no leads,
we have no shame." Like, you can't, you
can't be afraid this guy's gonna go,
"You came to my, my kid's soccer game.
Are you nuts?" And, you know, did
that thought even cross your mind,
or did you just go, "You know,
I, I want the business." I- Well,
Bill Cawley: no, it, it did cross my mind.
All right.
But one of the things that happened
that was good there is that I knew
another dad there whose kid was
there So I could socialize with
him- Mm … and then get to know.
'Cause, like, if I was just
lurking there and I had nobody, no
relationship, I just got lucky there.
Reese Arrington: Mm-hmm.
Bill Cawley: But, you know, listen,
i- life is what you make of it.
And, like, uh, it's gonna be
whatever you, you make it be.
And, like, I just got to where I had some
success, and with success you become more
confident, and you just become more…
I don't know if bold's the right word,
but, um, you know, none of this is easy.
Chase Arrington: Right.
Bill Cawley: Like, I lose
80% of the time, you know?
Real estate's brutal, but it's great.
But… And I also think it's discipline.
It's you have to be really careful
when… 'Cause I take people's money and
invest it- Mm-hmm … in real estate.
Reese Arrington: Yeah.
Bill Cawley: I need to
give it back to them-
Reese Arrington: Right
… Bill Cawley: with a profit.
Reese Arrington: Right.
Bill Cawley: So there's
a lot of responsibility.
Reese Arrington: Yeah.
So you talk about 80% of the time it,
you know, things don't always work out.
Ha- has there been a, any big losses that
Bill Cawley: you know-
Yeah … set you back?
I, I mean, like, I didn't
see the financial crisis
coming- Mm … um, in '07.
We were, uh, you know, we were heavily
invested in apartments in Houston
and office buildings all over the
Southwest United States, land positions.
And all of our partners, like,
kinda turned into pumpkins
in the middle of this.
You know, a lot of people that
had capital didn't have it.
And so what, what I realized there
was, okay, here I am, I like all my
bets, but all my equity and my capital
Is gone.
They're done
Reese Arrington: Mm-hmm
Bill Cawley: Because if you're
50 million of a $5 billion
fund, it's a rounding error.
They make decisions that are
negatively gonna affect you, and then
you have a bank relationship, you
have other- all these relationships.
They can't honor them because
it's, it's r- not relational.
It's just transactional.
Reese Arrington: Sure.
Bill Cawley: And so that's why I moved
more to private capital, high net
worth families- Mm-hmm … because they
bet on you, and it's more relational.
They'll let you fight your
way out of, of problems.
Reese Arrington: Right.
Because the bank, then they're just
looking at you as a number, essentially.
Bill Cawley: Yeah, and it's not the
banks as much as the equity guys-
Okay … the institutional investors-
Okay … the Wall Street people.
Gotcha.
And, you know, they're
just doing their job.
But, but, um, you know, a- again,
it's all about relationships, and
it's about- Mm-hmm … the number
one thing in a deal is the people.
It's not the deal.
The people.
Reese Arrington: Well, so, yeah.
Uh, so, you know, with the institutional
money, um, and it's big money- Yeah
… and that big money buys them time, right?
To wait on stuff.
So do you think it's gotten harder for,
you know, people to kind of break through
an industry that feels like it's growing
from this, you know, um, you know- Well-
Wall Street money perspective?
Bill Cawley: Yeah, well, I will say this.
I think a good deal
will always find money.
Now, there's been twice in my life
where I had a great opportunity, and
it's usually when you're contrarian,
so you're going, running into the fire.
I, I, I worked for Richard
Rainwater at the Bass family
when I first came to Dallas.
I d- didn't mention that when I started.
Mm. But he was a contrarian.
And so that he… Like, I always
b- I… It's about buying right.
When everybody's scared,
you should be buying.
When everybody's buying,
you should be selling.
Reese Arrington: Hmm.
Bill Cawley: And so it's
buying when things are out of
favor, like office buildings.
Everybody's scared to death of office.
Anybody that bought office buildings
three years ago are gonna make a fortune.
Hmm.
Anybody that buys office buildings
today are gonna make a fortune,
if you buy the right ones.
You gotta buy- Mm … something
that has a reason for being there.
And, um, I went three and a half years
without making an investment, zero.
Mm. And then since last May, I've
bought 5,000 acres in South Dallas.
Reese Arrington: Wow.
Bill Cawley: I bought an
office building in Uptown.
I bought another office building
in Uptown I'm gonna tear down
and make it a ho- a hotel.
Mm. And I bought a mall in Plano that
we're gonna demolish- And redevelop
Reese Arrington: So
Bill Cawley: it's- And I hadn't
done anything, and I- now
I'm like a drunken sailor out
Reese Arrington: there
Bill Cawley: Yeah.
So that's- 'Cause I can see recovery
Reese Arrington: Mm-hmm.
But that's kinda like buying the dip.
Yeah.
Right?
Yeah.
But, but I guess my point is that,
um, you know, if someone's new
and breaking into an industry,
they can't afford to buy the dip.
Bill Cawley: No.
Reese Arrington: They can't.
No.
And so if you're, if someone's out
there and they're young in commercial
real estate, let's say a tenant rep,
and they're just like, "Man, how
do I break into, uh, developing?"
Or they just have dreams of
bigger deals, where do they start?
Bill Cawley: They have to sell knowledge.
I think y- y- like, uh, what I did
when I was a broker, I, I learned,
and then I had knowledge to sell.
I knew what kind of buildings they wanted.
Reese Arrington: Mm.
Bill Cawley: And again, the market's
so much more efficient than it was
then, but there's still opportunity.
So, like I tell young people, "Go learn.
Be a, be an expert. And people want
your knowledge and your relationships."
Reese Arrington: Right.
And that's where the relationship
comes in, too, because if you
find a… You know, like you
said, you were looking for smaller
companies up front that would grow.
Bill Cawley: Yeah.
Reese Arrington: I mean, I have
a buddy, he's, he's a tenant rep,
and he's f- you know, after years
of kinda grinding and not making
a lot of money- Is he doing well?
Now, now he is Good … now he is because
I was actually talking- It's a tough
business … I was talking to him, you
know, just a few days ago, and he's like,
"Yeah, man, you know, I had, I had some
companies that I found years ago, and now
they're growing." And so they've moved
two times in the past, like, five years.
Right.
And so he's negotiating- But
that's well- … those deals.
Yeah.
Bill Cawley: It's life, right?
Reese Arrington: Uh-huh.
Bill Cawley: So, like I have a lot of
young people that don't have capital bring
me things, because they don't know how to
get them done, but they see opportunity.
Reese Arrington: Mm-hmm.
Bill Cawley: And a lot of them don't
make any sense, but some of them do.
Reese Arrington: Yeah.
Bill Cawley: And so, like, one of the, my
favorite things to do is have somebody,
young guy, bring me something and help
him, and so then we b- become partners.
Reese Arrington: Mm.
Bill Cawley: And then he's in the game.
And that's the way it worked for me.
Like, um, you know, but I,
I, I just think in life you
should think as big as you can.
Yeah.
Um, I don't know why people sell
shoes when you can sell a car,
or wh- why you sell a car- Sure
when you can sell a big office building.
But, like- … for me, I just
went big, and I… It worked.
And it, it… I, and I think,
you know, you gotta keep winning
the game between your ears.
If you h- you have to stay
confident, and you have to do
whatever it takes to stay confident.
Like, when I would sit there and wanna do
a cold call, I didn't like cold calling.
Mm. I mean, you're
getting voicemail today.
It's just a beating.
Right.
But I, I would make myself do it, and
then once I got going, I could do it.
Mm-hmm.
But, um, and there's things in my
business that, uh, one of the best
parts of my life today is I've
offloaded everything I don't like doing.
Mm. So I have a great partner in Brian
Neitzel, and he runs our business.
And I just do relationship I do the
investing and I, uh, I do strategy.
That's it.
Reese Arrington: You
work in your strengths.
That's
Bill Cawley: it.
Reese Arrington: Yeah.
So that, that's such an-
Bill Cawley: And it's fun.
Reese Arrington: Yeah.
Um, so when did you get to
take off all those other hats?
Bill Cawley: Oh, um, probably
early mid 2000s Mm-hmm You know,
I'll, I'll tell you a story.
I was a broker.
I'm dyslexic, so- Mm-hmm
… reading is tough for me.
Reese Arrington: Sure
Bill Cawley: If I don't care.
If I like something, I can read it.
I've got this firm that
I'm doing their lease.
It's like 100,000 foot lease, and
they go, "Well, I want you to read
the lease over the weekend and, uh,
mark it up and give it back to me."
And I looked at him, and this is…
It took me a lot of
guts to say this to him.
I, and I looked at him, because I
would do a terrible job of that.
I looked at him and I said, "Listen,
you hired me to negotiate the lease,
not to read it. If I'll read it, but
it's not gonna be well done, you need
to get a lawyer and have him lead
that part, and I'll make sure that
the deal terms are right in the deal."
And he looked at me and he goes, "Okay."
I never read an… I never did it again.
Because that's what he hired me for.
Yeah.
I mean, I- Yeah … I'm, I'm here to
get you the best deal and make sure
that, that the lawyer needs to make sure
the document- Mm-hmm … covers you.
Because I, I can do it, but
I'm not gonna do it well.
Reese Arrington: Right.
And, and I'm sure that
would just be pa- It was
Bill Cawley: like- … somewhat
of a painful experience … it
was like losing 100 pounds.
I was going- … "This is awesome.
I'm gonna go play golf this weekend."
Reese Arrington: That's awesome.
Um, but that takes time, right?
I mean, there is, um- It
Bill Cawley: takes confidence and
time and experience and… But I think
the sooner you get there, the better.
Reese Arrington: Yeah.
So would you, would you say it's worth
it if there's a young person starting a
business of any kind, you know, uh, just
to, to make the jump, offload some of
that, uh, some of your weaknesses- Which
Bill Cawley: you don't like?
Reese Arrington: Yeah.
Offload it You should get
Bill Cawley: rid of all of it.
Reese Arrington: Yeah?
Bill Cawley: Yes.
Reese Arrington: Well, what if it's
just, what if, what if it's- Because then
Bill Cawley: you're doing what you're
really good at all day long- Mm-hmm
and you're having a blast
Reese Arrington: So what if it's just you?
And, and you're, and you're… I mean-
Bill Cawley: Well, then you gotta do it.
Yeah.
But I mean, like, like I can tell you,
like, um, we do pro formas, right?
I have three analysts in our company,
and do I wanna do a pro forma?
Mm-hmm.
There's no way.
Reese Arrington: Mm-hmm.
Bill Cawley: Now, I can do on the back
of the napkin, and I can be within
5% of where they end up- Exactly
after all that work, but a pro forma
is a guess of what's gonna happen,
and I can just run the numbers in
my head and kinda get pretty close.
But do I wanna do that?
No way.
Right.
I wouldn't be good at it.
But, but you know,
everybody needs help, right?
Like my partner, it's
always cloudy in his office.
Sun's always shining in mine.
So you put the two of
us together, it works.
Mm-hmm.
He comes from things at a different
angle than I do, and it's awesome.
And, um, so I'm a big believer,
like whatever you do that you like,
you should do more of it, and you
should find ways to get somebody
else to do what you don't wanna do.
Because then it frees you up.
I guarantee you, your business will
f- will flourish because of it.
Reese Arrington: Yeah.
Yeah.
It's… That's so interesting, because,
you know, I don't know why I get this
way sometimes, but I feel like work
needs to hurt a little bit I don't know.
And, and- It doesn't.
Uh, yeah.
I, I felt- It, it- … I felt that
for years … and, and I think it goes
back to what we talked about earlier
about- It should be fun all day long.
Yeah.
But what, I, I go back to what we talked
about earlier in, in this, uh, the guilt.
You know, I talked about- Yeah … uh, I
can't think if we're off camera, but, uh,
you know, I was raised with the guilt God,
the God that loves you but doesn't like
you very much, and I think that guilt-
Bill Cawley: I had that too
… Reese Arrington: that guilt kinda drove
me to feel like I didn't deserve to be-
Bill Cawley: Well, you do.
Reese Arrington: Yeah.
Bill Cawley: Right.
Reese Arrington: Yeah.
Bill Cawley: Well, and, and I think
the sooner you get there, the better.
But I'm telling you, I'm on the back nine.
I'm sitting here at my age, and I'm
having the most fun I've ever had.
And if I had to do all the stuff
I don't like to do, I'd quit.
Reese Arrington: Mm.
Bill Cawley: And, you know,
like, we spend a lot of money.
My wife and I- Yeah
live a good life, and I don't
wanna have a pond that doesn't
have any water running into it.
So I like… I mean, making money's fun,
but it's also about giving it away, too.
It's- Yeah … but if, if you
free yourself up to do what you're
the best at, it only makes sense.
Mm-hmm.
Like when I was a kid, they would ask you
to focus on the things you're not good at.
Screw the things you're not good at.
Let somebody else do it.
Reese Arrington: Yeah.
Well, so it, it, I'm thinking, uh, we
attribute working hard and long hours
to burnout, but it's probably not.
From what you're saying, burnout
comes from doing things you
don't wanna do all day long.
Bill Cawley: That's what, that's what
Reese Arrington: I think.
You, I, I mean, if, if I could do
everything that I love to do for 12 hours
a day, I'd probably wanna work 14, right?
That's what I'm saying.
But if I do what I- 'Cause it's
fun … if I do what I hate for
eight, 10 hours a day- That's why I
keep working … I wanna kill myself.
Bill Cawley: 'Cause it's fun.
Reese Arrington: Right.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Bill Cawley: I, I'm telling you,
I, I took a coaching class, and
he called it unique ability.
Mm. He said, "Work less, take time
off, only do what you're good at.
Offload everything else to other people."
My, my income just went like that.
Reese Arrington: Mm.
Bill Cawley: And, uh, so like I have a
rule on the weekends, um, after Saturday,
'cause I catch up on Saturday morning, I
don't look at emails until Monday morning.
So, um, I've got a day and
a half of total away, right?
Um, it's unbelievable.
All that stuff that's floating around in
your head that you can't get a decision
for, you know, you keep writing it down on
your to-do list, and it never goes away,
you get clarity on that stuff if you just
get a- you gotta just totally get away.
Reese Arrington: Yeah.
Mm.
Bill Cawley: But, you know, it's just,
um- I think life is, uh, again, what
you make of it, but it's just about
building it the way you want it.
And if you could figure out a way to make
a living at what you're really good at,
then, then you're gonna be doing more of
it, and then you can hire those people.
But I, I tell you what I did, I hired
a guy when I couldn't afford it.
Reese Arrington: Really?
Bill Cawley: When I made the decision.
Mm. I said, "Okay, I'm gonna do it."
Reese Arrington: Mm.
Bill Cawley: And, and it, it paid off.
Reese Arrington: Yeah.
Yeah.
Bill Cawley: I gave him my salary.
I only had… I was paying me.
Right.
And I paid it to him.
Reese Arrington: Wow.
Yeah.
No, that's good.
Um, yeah, it's like we gotta take that
risk and just, you know, move forward.
Bill Cawley: Well, like I- I would love
to have the knowledge I have and be you.
Reese Arrington: Mm.
Bill Cawley: Be your age.
Reese Arrington: Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, so-
Bill Cawley: 'Cause like you got
so much life in front of you.
And the world's gonna change so much,
like with AI and what's going on.
I, I'm… It's, it's gonna
change in- Mm-hmm … incredibly.
And, um- Yeah … it's gonna be awesome.
And you're in the right,
you're in the right spot-
Reese Arrington: Yeah
… Bill Cawley: Dallas.
Reese Arrington: Yeah.
So, you know, for young people out
there, I guess it's, you know…
And for myself, I'm a young person.
You're probably- Very … you're
probably better off, um, not chasing
money right now, but finding out what
you're good at because your longevity
to stay in the game and perform at
a high level is gonna be, uh- Yeah
way higher- Yeah … than doing
something you don't wanna do.
So yeah, no, that's, that's great advice.
You know- It- … find, find what you
really… Well, so between finding
what you love and what you're good
at, what you're, what you're good at,
sometimes they're not the same thing.
How do you figure out which one to go do?
Bill Cawley: Well, I mean, you're
sitting here in a family business, right?
So this is your future.
Mm-hmm.
And so you just know what
you're, what you enjoy the most.
I'd lean into it.
But, like, I, I, I mean, if I was in
that position where I said, "Okay, what
I'm the best at doesn't fit here," I'd
go find something else to do quick.
Sure.
But, um, I just think, uh-
The more fulfilled you are every
day at your work and that you
enjoy, you're gonna be better at it.
Mm-hmm.
And those other people are gonna be
much better at what you're doing that
you don't like than you ever will be.
Like I tell ki- kids, like I try to help
people find jobs coming out of college.
I probably got 30 of them
I'm working with right now.
Wow.
Trying to find, help them get connected.
And I said, "Number one,
don't worry about the money.
Number two, it's not your last job.
It's just your first one." And I said,
"The number one thing you wanna do is
learn, and you wanna build relationships.
So go there.
You wanna start at the top if you
can, but you w- you find your way in,
and then you outwork everybody else."
Mm. "And you work on relationships
and forget about the money." Yeah.
Because it's about people.
Like when you meet the right
people, they lift you up.
They do because they, they take c- we
all take care of each other, and once
you go up the food chain, you, your
centers of influence become higher and
your probability of success gets bigger.
And like I remember, like now at my
age, I know all the, the bosses in
all these companies- Right … 'cause
they all grew up with me, right?
Right.
You're not there yet.
Right.
But I'm there.
And the, you know, the higher
you get, the easier life gets.
And, and like for me, business
is easier than it's ever been.
It's not easy.
Reese Arrington: Mm-hmm.
Bill Cawley: But it's easier
because I get referrals, and I
have a life of r- relationships,
and I have a good reputation.
I've worked really hard
to keep my reputation.
I mean, if you don't have a good
reputation, you're toast, you know?
And-
Chase Arrington: Yeah
… Bill Cawley: I know a lot of people
that have sold their soul for money, and
they've got six houses across the country,
and they're in them by themselves.
Chase Arrington: Mm.
Bill Cawley: And I would much rather have
respect and relationships than money.
Yeah.
'Cause money is fleeting, and it's great,
but with faith, money's awesome because,
you know, you've got it in the right slot.
It's not the answer.
Reese Arrington: Yeah.
And you learned real estate.
I mean, you, you were working
for your dad, you know, at 15.
Bill Cawley: Yeah.
Um- But I'm doing something
totally different.
It, it's just was a journey.
Yeah.
You know, I put really good people
around me, and when I didn't know
what I was doing, I'd go get advice.
But I never let them know I didn't know.
Reese Arrington: Right.
And you probably-
Bill Cawley: Fake it till
you make it … yeah.
Did you
Reese Arrington: go to your, your
Bill Cawley: best- I would go… Like,
I, I had some mentors in my life.
Mm-hmm.
And I would go say, "Okay,
here's what I've got.
What, what do you recommend?"
And then I'd go do it.
Reese Arrington: So were you…
Would you say when you were in your
20s and 30s, you were, you know,
working your fingers to the bone?
I mean-
Bill Cawley: Yeah
… Reese Arrington: y- y-
I know you were- Well,
Bill Cawley: I was broke, right?
I mean, I was broke- … and
I was trying to stay sober.
So I was going to AA meetings.
I'd go to AA meeting at, uh, 7:00,
at noon, and at 5:00 I'd go there
and I'd stay there till it was
time to go to bed, 'cause I was
afraid if I didn't, I'd drink.
And I did that for a couple years.
Reese Arrington: So what, what… How
old were you when you were doing that?
Bill Cawley: I got sober, uh, on September
22nd, 1985, so whatever that is, 30.
Reese Arrington: Okay.
Bill Cawley: Yeah.
Reese Arrington: Wow.
And so was that… Does that coincide with
when things really started to take off?
Bill Cawley: Well-
Reese Arrington: Or were
you already, you already
Bill Cawley: had- … five
years later, 'cause I had a
big dit- I was in a big ditch.
Reese Arrington: Hmm.
Bill Cawley: I owed a lot of money and-
Reese Arrington: Hmm
… Bill Cawley: you know,
I had a lot of messes.
And I had, I had to build up my
game between my ears, 'cause I was-
Chase Arrington: Hmm
… Bill Cawley: you know, I wasn't,
uh, living a very good life
when- Right … I was drinking.
And there were a lot of things I needed to
change, and part of it was making amends.
Like, I went to my, uh After that
accident, you know, I went to my daughter.
She didn't want anything to do with me.
Um,
and I was with Keely, my wife.
I wanted her to meet my
wife and my future wife.
And so we're at dinner,
and she was just so rude.
It was terrible.
And Keely says to me, she says,
"You go down there and you knock
on her door, and you're gonna
sit in there and work this out."
Reese Arrington: Wow.
Bill Cawley: So we're staying at
the Drake Hotel in downtown Chicago.
My daughter has a room.
I go knock on the door.
She goes, "Nah, I'm not interested."
So I go back up to the room, and Keely
goes, "Get down there." So I go down
there, and, uh, for four hours we both
cried and talked and, and she sa-- And
the deal that came out of it was that
I would go to counseling with her.
And so I lived in Dallas.
She lived in Illinois.
So, um, for 18 months, I would, uh, fly
to Chicago, drive an hour and a half
on a Wednesday night, have dinner with
her, go to counseling Thursday morning,
drive to Chicago, fly back to Dallas.
Wow.
And I just kept doing it.
Reese Arrington: Mm-hmm.
Bill Cawley: And one day she
looked at me, and she said, "Dad,
you don't need to come anymore."
And it was about showing up-
Reese Arrington: Hmm
… Bill Cawley: 'cause the counselor
should be run out of town.
She was terrible, but I just kept going.
Reese Arrington: Hmm.
Bill Cawley: And now we're so close.
Reese Arrington: That's so cool.
Bill Cawley: But it's about fighting
to… I, I had to fix what I did, and
I had to… I can't make… Like, if I
offend you, I can't make you forgive me.
It's your choice.
Chase Arrington: Hmm.
Bill Cawley: And so, like, when
you're an alcoholic, you go
make amends to all these people.
They get to pick if
they're gonna forgive you.
And, like, it's-- Making amends
is about walking into a room.
If I owe you money and I can't pay you,
but I've come to you and said, "Listen, I
know I owe you 2,000 bucks. I'm gonna pay
you 10 bucks a month until I pay it off."
It's not ideal, but I'm addressing it.
I could walk into that room and see
you, and I don't have to go hide.
I've dealt with it It's your
choice whether you wanna, you know-
Right … kick me in the, in the,
in the head or, or, or forgive me.
Reese Arrington: Mm-hmm.
Bill Cawley: Most people had grace.
Many didn't.
Like my ex-wife didn't
forgive me for 30 years.
Yeah.
Reese Arrington: Yeah.
Well, I mean, that's, uh, that's
tough and that's an incred- incredible
story about your daughter, and
you put in the work, you know?
And that, and I think sometimes we think
that just saying I'm sorry is enough.
Um- Yeah … and sometimes people
don't even give us the opportunity
to earn back their trust.
In the situation, she did, and you stepped
up to the plate, and you did the work.
Bill Cawley: Well, I had to fight
for it- Yeah … 'cause it's,
uh, I mean, but you know what?
Relationships are so important.
I mean, like, you see these families
that are estranged, it's horrible.
Chase Arrington: Mm.
Bill Cawley: Like family, you
don't get to pick them, but
you gotta get along with them.
Like, I'm Mr. Switzerland.
Like, I- … I just want my brother
and my two sisters, I just wanna
get along with everybody 'cause
I want to be in their lives.
Now-
Chase Arrington: Yeah
… Bill Cawley: do I agree with everything?
No way.
We all have different politics.
We have different beliefs, you know,
but it, I think every relationship
that's meaningful is worth fighting for.
Reese Arrington: Yeah.
Well, I mean, just from things
you've talked about so far with your
deals and your family and, you know,
battling addiction, cl- climbing
out of a ditch, seems like you're
someone who's just never backed down.
Bill Cawley: Ah,
Reese Arrington: well.
You know?
And, and I'm sure there were times in
your life where- Sure … maybe you
avoided the plate, but you've stepped up.
You've stepped up to the plate.
You know what?
At, at m- Yeah … multiple times it
seemed like these are the life-changing
moments that you've had where you
said, "No, I'm not going to back down
from whatever this challenge is."
Bill Cawley: Right.
I wanted it bad.
Yeah.
I came from such a place because
of the, my drinking where I
w- I just wanted self-respect.
Mm. And my faith was huge because once
I found God, living right was easier.
Yep.
I mean, when you're in the Word
and… Like, I, I find out if I, if
I pray morning, in the morning and
read the Bible- Mm … I don't swear.
'Cause, you know, I, I'd use the
F as a verb, like, for years.
And so if I go on a, like, a guys
golf trip and, like, I put the
devotional away and, like, the third
day I'm throwing F-bombs like crazy.
So it, it, it's just
about being consistent.
Because, like, basically
we're all slugs, right?
Because that's why grace has to
get you to heaven, because you're
never gonna get there, right?
Mm-hmm.
Because we're not, we're imperfect.
Mm-hmm.
And it's, it's a great deal.
I mean…
Reese Arrington: Well, in the seven-day,
the seven-day, you know, church structure-
Yeah … where we hit church on, you
know, every seven days, I realize if
I just go to church, not only am I
swearing, I, I have completely reformed
my values- Same … by Saturday night.
Me too.
You know?
I mean, the world is so enticing.
It just draws me right back in.
It goes back to, you know, being
covered in the dust of your rabbi.
You know?
It, it takes that morning dedication.
Bill Cawley: You learned it early.
That's great.
Reese Arrington: Gotta practice
it better, but we're getting
Bill Cawley: there.
Well, but I mean, again, the
perfection's off the table, right?
Mm-hmm.
You just gotta have the heart to do it.
Reese Arrington: Yeah.
Bill Cawley: And it, it, I think at
my age, trouble's… Like, I'm not
gonna get in any trouble, right?
Because my, I, I, I mean, one of the
things I like about being my age is
you realize kinda what's important.
I don't worry.
Like, my, my faith took worry off the
table, and I'm in a position to where
I don't have to worry about money.
And it's, I just keep myself, you know,
in a position to where I'm doing good.
I don't put myself in, in bad positions.
Yeah.
But…
Reese Arrington: So, um, I wanna go
back to something you said earlier
about, you know, hiring people.
You have people in the right place
that do the details, and you stay
really big picture, 10,000-foot view.
So how do you hire people,
and how do you fire people?
Bill Cawley: Um, so Brian, my partner,
does all the hiring and firing.
Oh.
But here's what I would think about.
It's, it's, uh… Well, like, I've done
testing and I've done all kinds of things.
So I'm a big believer that if you've
hired the wrong person, you need to find
another place for them with empathy.
Reese Arrington: Hmm.
Bill Cawley: So if you need to
replace someone, the sooner you
do it the better, and give them a
long runway to go find another job.
So- Mm … um, I just had to terminate,
it's been a couple years ago.
I loved this lady.
She was great.
She'd been with me a long time, but she
was doing a horrible job at her job.
And I mean, I'd been through so much
with her, and I just went to her
and I sat down and I said, "Listen,
I've lost faith that you're doing a
good job, and I'm sorry, but I have.
So I have to replace you." But I
said, "I'm gonna take care of you
until you find your next job."
And so we gave her a long runway.
We kept paying her and so her family
was fine and, and she found a job,
you know, within three or four months.
I would have covered her
for a lot longer than that.
Sure.
But so I think it's about, um…
Listen, the money you give
to other people is much more
important to them than it is to me.
And so like tipping- Mm. Tip aggressively.
You know, be good to people that
are, that are out there fighting.
I think the gap between the haves and
the have-nots is getting so wide and
like, like if sitting there and you,
you see somebody, a, a waitress or…
Like I, I get in an Uber.
Here's what I do with
Ubers, and this is fun.
Um, I get in an Uber and I've
got like a, a housewife that's
driving me to the airport, or
she was driving me home actually.
It was late at night and I said, "How
long you been Ubering?" She said,
"Uh, five years." I said, "Well,
how long do you work every day?"
She says, "I work until I make a
certain amount of money." I said,
"Really?" And I said, "Well, how much
is that?" And she said… I don't
remember what it was, like 300 bucks.
And so she's pulling me into my driveway.
I said, "How close are you
to that 300?" And she says,
whatever it was, "150." Mm-hmm.
I take 150 and I give it to
her and I said, "Go home."
Reese Arrington: Yeah.
Bill Cawley: And now that 150
was Like that's a memory I
guarantee you she won't forget.
Mm-hmm.
And it's not a big … It's nothing
big, but I love doing that- Mm-hmm
… with Uber people, 'cause you talk
to them and you, you understand
what, where they're at in life.
Like s- some of these guys are
going to college, and they're, they
It's just cool.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So I think giving's important.
Mm-hmm.
But giving your time is more
important than anything.
Reese Arrington: Yeah.
I mean, giving is, it's the … It
breaks all, uh, you know, f-
conventional physics per se.
If, you know, you have equal
opposite reaction, right?
Yeah.
Uh, I give something, I lose.
That person got something
they want, right?
That's what generosity and giving
looks like on paper, but I think the
miracle in giving and generosity is
that you give something, they got-
Bill Cawley: And you have
Reese Arrington: a gift of giving … I,
and I got the gift of giving.
I mean, it- It's the best … it,
it's, it's a m- It's the best when
you figure that out … it's amazing.
It's like that our, we have the
Yeah.
It's like there's something spiritual that
happens in that that- Totally … that
um, that we, we get this amazing benefit.
Bill Cawley: So like if I'm at a, you know
the people that are begging on the corner?
Mm-hmm.
You know, with the signs.
Like 90% of the time I drive by
them, but if I get a gut, the
Holy Spirit, I give them money.
Yeah.
Only when that happens.
Reese Arrington: Right.
Bill Cawley: Like I go, "Okay, I'm
gonna help this person." Mm-hmm.
And I don't know why that is,
but I, that's when I do it.
Right.
And a lot of times, uh, you know, I'm not.
But, um-
Reese Arrington: Yeah.
Bill Cawley: You know what?
We're all passing through life, right?
So like after today, who knows when you'll
see me again, if you'll ever see me again.
But we all enter each other's
lives, and we should all be kind
to each other and help each other.
And- Yeah … it's just life
would be so much better.
There's so much angst in the world.
It's crazy.
You know, um, you can't even
talk about things because people
get so bucked up about it.
But-
Reese Arrington: Yeah
… Bill Cawley: like, um, I
just think nice is good.
Reese Arrington: Yeah.
No, I agree.
Um, so what is next for Bill Cawley?
I mean, what's, what are
y'all working on as a firm?
Um, what big-
Bill Cawley: So I'm actually busier
than I've been in a long time.
Reese Arrington: Mm-hmm.
Bill Cawley: Um, I bought a building in
Uptown out of, out of foreclosure, and
I was gonna renovate it and keep it.
I think I'm gonna tear it down and
build a new building there because
you can see the market taking off.
So I think what I, I wanna do is
I wanna, um- I wanna keep doing
what I enjoy and do, you know,
not do anything I don't want to.
I'm gonna live.
I'm gonna t- take time off.
I'm gonna travel.
I'm gonna live, 'cause I don't know
when God's got me, you know, when
my last day is, but I'm gonna give.
I'm gonna give more.
And, um, I th- I think my… I
would say my goal is to leave more
than I took- Hmm … or what I got.
And, and it's with relationships,
with helping people, with…
And, and making money is so fun.
It's so fun.
And, um, you know, I wanna enjoy the
money, but I also wanna give it away.
And, um, so-
Reese Arrington: Mm-hmm.
Okay, so you have the up-
Bill Cawley: That's it
Reese Arrington: uptown development.
Anything more on the toll road going on?
Bill Cawley: So I've got a site on
the tollway- Mm-hmm … uh, that
I've got a building designed, and
I kinda think it's time for that.
Uh, I, I'm gonna buy a
building in Turtle Creek.
I'm in the middle of getting
that done, and I'm really
excited about this mall in Plano.
Yeah.
Um, we're gonna tear it down, and I
think we, we got the Stars moving there.
Reese Arrington: Really?
Bill Cawley: Yeah.
Reese Arrington: Their,
their headquarters?
Bill Cawley: The stadium.
Reese Arrington: The stadium?
Bill Cawley: Yeah.
Reese Arrington: Whoa.
Okay.
Bill Cawley: 'Cause- Yeah, I've been
working on it for a couple years.
Well,
Reese Arrington: well-
Bill Cawley: They're, they're
gonna announce in the next
couple weeks if they do.
Now they haven't signed anything, but
I've s- we've spent a lot of time on it.
I think they're going there.
Reese Arrington: Yeah.
Well, 'cause I've, I heard of- This
might be a few months … I guess months
ago about, you know, the Adelsons and
the Stars owners, and they got in this
big, you know, disagreement over AAC.
Bill Cawley: Yeah.
Reese Arrington: Uh- And I
Bill Cawley: think the Adelsons
have helped the guy you're looking
at right here, Bill Cawley.
Reese Arrington: Yeah.
Bill Cawley: I'm, I'm a
solution for their problem.
Reese Arrington: Oh, to… So they
can have the complete control of AAC?
Bill Cawley: So they… Well, Adelson-
Reese Arrington: 'Cause they own the
Bill Cawley: Mavs … the Stars can't
do anything where they're splitting
revenue, so they want their own stadium.
Hmm.
And I think Plano's gonna provide that for
Reese Arrington: them.
Gotcha.
Bill Cawley: And their,
their fans come from there.
A lot of them do.
Reese Arrington: Yeah.
I
Bill Cawley: think it makes sense.
Reese Arrington: Mm-hmm.
That's
Bill Cawley: cool.
But I also think the city
and the Adelsons help me.
Reese Arrington: And-
Directly or indirectly?
Bill Cawley: Indirectly.
Reese Arrington: Indirectly.
Bill Cawley: By the way, the lawsuit
and- Yeah … the- Right … they
don't get along, you know?
Reese Arrington: Yeah.
Well, I- It's too bad … I,
I couldn't- It's- Do, do you
know the weeds of that lawsuit?
Bill Cawley: I don't.
Reese Arrington: I, I heard-
No … some things about it,
but I can't really pick out.
It's just- It's a he said, she said.
Yeah.
But anyway- Um, the, the Stars broke some
sort of lease agreement where they had
to keep their headquarters in Dallas.
Which is like bullying- Which… Yeah.
Right … to me.
But- And then they said, "Well, you
can't do profit or revenue sharing
because you moved your headquarters."
Right.
That's- And they're gonna bully them
out at this point … uh, to me, that's
Bill Cawley: predatory.
Reese Arrington: That's
kinda how it felt to me.
That's not
Bill Cawley: relational.
Reese Arrington: Well, no, it's not
relational, and I hate to say it,
but I haven't been back to a Mavs
game since they traded Luka Dončić.
It really, it really affected me.
It really
Bill Cawley: affected me.
Okay, let me tell you, the George Floyd
thing when, when the NBA… And what
happened to George Floyd isn't right-
Mm-hmm … but when they took off and
wouldn't play, and they're making all
this money, I checked off the NBA.
Mm-hmm.
And then when they traded
Luka, I am so done.
Reese Arrington: Yeah.
It's…
Bill Cawley: I mean, it's a bad product.
I mean- Yeah
you go there.
I mean, they're- Yeah … I mean, they're
20 games under 500, and it's a… The
seat costs you 600 bucks to sit and
watch them get their brains beat in.
Reese Arrington: Oh, that, and, and all it
is is watching a three-point contest now.
Bill Cawley: There's no defense.
It's a bad product.
Reese Arrington: No.
Yeah.
I, I think… I'd rather- I'm
Bill Cawley: still a football guy.
Reese Arrington: I mean-
I'd rather watch football.
I-
Bill Cawley: Me too
… Reese Arrington: on TV
football, I mean, TV hockey.
College.
Hockey- Pro … is great, too.
Bill Cawley: I love hockey.
Reese Arrington: But, but watching-
Bill Cawley: Hockey in playoffs is great.
Ooh.
I watched the game last night.
Reese Arrington: Yeah,
yeah, a heartbreaker.
Yeah.
That was sucks.
But live hockey is the most- It's
the best … fun thing to watch.
I
Bill Cawley: totally agree.
And I think playoff
baseball's pretty good.
Reese Arrington: Yeah.
Bill Cawley: Where every pitch matters.
Right.
But other than that, it's beating.
Reese Arrington: Right.
No, playoff baseball is good
because, I mean, something can turn
around in one inning like that.
It's great.
And it happens sometimes.
Right.
Yeah.
Well, cool.
Bill Cawley: Yeah.
Reese Arrington: Well, hey, I know,
um, I've had a great time- Yeah, me too
you know, chatting with you.
I- I've enjoyed it.
Yeah.
We, we covered a lot.
Um, I think that's, I think that's
a, that's a wrap on- That's a wrap.
Awesome … I think that's
a wrap on Bill Cawley.
Uh, you know, thanks for-
Chase Arrington: Yeah.
Do you wanna, like, yeah,
sign them off, I guess?
Bill Cawley: Yeah.
Yeah.
Reese Arrington: Yeah.
Uh, yeah.
No.
Okay.
Bill Cawley: I think you just did.
I think I'm doing it.
Yes.
Reese Arrington: Yeah.
No.
Uh, thank you everyone for tuning in.
Bill, you know, we really
enjoyed you being here.
Tune in next time, we're gonna
have more guests coming up.
We're gonna be ramping back up Building
Dallas, and we'll see you next time.
Bill Cawley: Thanks for having me.
Reese Arrington: Thanks for being here.
Bye.
Mm-hmm.