Right About Now with Ryan Alford
Episode: Fields to Fortune: Moses Heredia’s Rise
Date: August 19, 2025
Guest: Moses Heredia, Founder & CEO of Global Processing Systems
Episode Overview
This episode features Moses Heredia, the founder and CEO of Global Processing Systems, whose journey spans from childhood days working in the fields with his immigrant mother to building a national leader in credit card processing. Host Ryan Alford digs deep into Moses’s backstory, values, business philosophy, and his passionate belief in the American dream. The conversation is an honest and inspirational look at grit, leadership, and the true meaning of success in business and in life.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Humble Beginnings and Family Influence
- Moses’s upbringing in the agricultural fields of New Mexico and Texas shaped his work ethic, discipline, and values.
- “My mom was an immigrant from Mexico. I was raised in the fields, man… that was my playground. Then I just started working. So I helped my mother out.”—Moses Heredia [01:55]
- Lessons from his mother: faith, discipline, dedication, determination, and positivity.
- “She never cared about her skin color, she never cared about her education. She would always teach me about faith.” [02:56]
2. The Drive to Succeed: DNA, Competition & Self-Motivation
- Success is a mix of nature, nurture, and environment.
- “It’s a combination of a lot... You are who you hang around with.” —Moses Heredia [04:29]
- Moses attributes his relentless drive to his competitive spirit and surrounding himself with motivated people.
- “Be positive, productive and proactive... we all have a backpack, and that’s all our problems. Leave that outside the office.” [04:29]
- Competition with peers was a key motivator in sales.
- “My colleagues were the ones that would motivate me. I couldn’t have them beat me on in sales every month.” [05:03]
3. Obsession with Winning — For Both Sides
- Winning is a high for Moses, but not at any cost.
- “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.” [00:00]
- Emphasizes the importance of fairness in business deals.
- “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.” [00:00]
- Memorable moment: Moses gets emotional after closing deals, seeing each win as validation of his hard work.
- “Once I hang up that Zoom call... it’s so emotional that I get tears in my eyes because the competitive spirit comes in.” [06:54]
4. Adapting Through Adversity
- Moses recounts surviving an early-career car accident and homelessness.
- “I got in a car accident... didn’t have electricity, didn’t have water... would take a bike to my customers... I really, really struggled.” [13:40]
- Resilience and faith drove him to start his own business.
- “For me to walk out and open a business was a cakewalk. I had been through the worst.” [14:55]
- Maintained his staff during crises (e.g., 2008 financial crisis, COVID-19) by taking pay cuts and prioritizing employees.
- “I took the hit first, brother. I went ahead and cut my salary as the CEO... Not one person left my company because I did not change or fire anyone because of the compensation.” [17:27]
5. Building a Company on People & Old-School Service
- Global Processing Systems: Focuses on in-house, personalized customer service, refusing to outsource.
- “Everything is here based... When you call our office, you get a live person on the phone, and that’s huge.” [16:19]
- Commitment to serving mom-and-pop businesses, not just big national brands.
- “We really focus and tear on the small mom and pop businesses... we cater to the smaller guys.” [15:46]
- Company culture is key:
- “Actions speak louder than words. I just got on social media, brother, last year. So to me, all this is new. I built my company way before social media. Social media didn’t make me, so God made me, and I just hustled my ass off.” [22:43]
6. Leadership Philosophy
- Leading from the front—pyramid approach:
- The customer comes first, CEO is last.
- “Whenever I do a board... I do the pyramid upside down. The first person... is obviously our customer... I’m always at the end, the last person that matters is me.” [22:19]
- Transparency, honesty, and solution-orientedness are non-negotiables for Moses.
- “One of the things to this day I won’t tolerate... Don’t come up here with some, you know, and trying to dance around it. Give it to me straight and let’s fix it.” [24:00]
7. True Meaning of Success
- Not measured by money, but the growth and success of his team and giving back.
- “Success to me is helping people around you, helping people grow, even giving back... I came from very humble beginnings... I never forgot where I came from and staying humble.” [26:57]
- Money, in Moses’s view, doesn’t change people—it reveals them.
- “Some people say, hey, money changed that guy. And I’m like, nah, money never changes a person. The person is really who they are, but money just shows who they really are.” [28:38]
8. The Opportunity of America & The Immigrant Experience
- A resounding defense of the American dream and pride in being an American.
- “We live in a country that we’re free. Sky’s the limit... We live in a country where there’s no communism.” [30:21]
- Moses’s time spent in rural Mexico as a child gave him perspective on opportunity.
- “Looking back as an adult, I thank her for that now... it made me who I am today.” [30:44]
- Perspective on critics of America:
- “If you’re unhappy with this country, then maybe you need to go somewhere else. But we live in the best country in the world, Ryan... and I stand behind that 100%.” [32:17]
Notable Quotes
-
On the drive to win:
“To me, winning is a high. You have to be obsessed. I’m obsessed with winning. I’m obsessed with making deals happen.” —Moses Heredia [00:00/06:54]
-
On fair business:
“You have to make sure that your business associate... is also winning, because then it won’t be a fair deal.” —Moses Heredia [00:00]
-
On building from nothing:
“For me to walk out and open a business was a cakewalk. I had been through the worst... didn’t nothing scared me. I couldn’t fail.” —Moses Heredia [14:55]
-
On leadership:
“Whenever I do a board... I do the pyramid upside down. The first person... is our customer... the last person that matters is me.” —Moses Heredia [22:19]
-
On money and character:
“Money never changes a person. The person is really who they are, but money just shows who they really are.” —Moses Heredia [28:38]
-
On the American Dream:
“We live in the best country in the world, Ryan. In the world. I could say that. And I stand behind that 100%.” —Moses Heredia [32:17]
Memorable Moments & Timestamps
- [01:55] – Moses shares emotional memories of working in the fields as a child.
- [06:54] – Describing the rush and emotion after closing a big deal: “Tears would come down my eyes, and I’d just be so happy and thanking God.”
- [13:40] – Surviving, and building back after homelessness and a serious car accident.
- [17:27] – Kept his entire staff through the 2008 crash and COVID-19 by sacrificing his own salary.
- [24:00] – Moses on total honesty: “Don’t come up here with some, you know, and trying to dance around it. Give it to me straight and let’s fix it.”
- [28:38] – Powerful reflection on success and ego.
- [30:21] – Moses’s impassioned gratitude for America and advice for those who take its freedoms for granted.
Resources Mentioned
- Book: “Fields to Fortune” by Moses Heredia, available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. [32:47]
- Contact/Website:
- Instagram: @MosesHeradia_
- Website: moses.com [32:55]
Tone & Speaker Style
- Moses Heredia: Humble, passionate, relentlessly positive, transparent, and deeply values his roots and faith.
- Ryan Alford: Real, energetic, no-nonsense, business-focused but personable, with a respect for hustle and authenticity.
This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in real stories of entrepreneurial grit, leadership with heart, and the lived reality of achieving the American dream.