Don Yaeger spent thirty years interviewing 2,500 of the best winners of his generation and asked every one of them the same question: name the habit in your daily routine that made you better than other people. He kept the answers in notebooks. Then he counted them. On this episode of Becoming More, he gives Dianna Kokoszka the number one answer — and then spends the rest of the hour showing his work.

There is a reason this conversation goes deeper than most guest interviews. Don was Dianna's business coach. As he puts it on tape, "suddenly my job was to coach the coach."

Don Yaeger is a 13-time New York Times bestselling author, a longtime Associate Editor at Sports Illustrated (1996–2008), a Hall of Fame keynote speaker, a Publisher of Forbes Books, and the host of the Corporate Competitor Podcast, where Fortune 500 leaders trace their leadership back to what sport taught them. He wrote "A Game Plan for Life: The Power of Mentoring" with UCLA coach John Wooden, "Never Die Easy" with Walter Payton, "Teammate" with World Series catcher David Ross, plus "Great Teams" and "Greatness: The 16 Characteristics of True Champions." He is one of five Maxwell Leadership Thought Leaders, and he still files a weekly leadership column for Chief Executive. His reporting has taken him to Baghdad, Afghanistan, China and Damascus, and his office holds Shaq's shoe, Heisman trophies, and a jersey Walter Payton gave him.

"The best believe success is available to them, but failure leaves a mark. They hate to lose more than they love to win."

"A loss is not a failure until you make an excuse." — Michael Jordan, as told to Don Yaeger

"And last Friday she opened letter number 863."

"Are they going where I want to go?" — John Wooden's question for every name on your list

"People listen differently when they think you care about them."

"If you ask me long after I'm gone what I will be most proud of, it will be what I believe those two will do one day."

"The Business of Storytelling: Inspire Action, Build Trust, and Drive Results Through Story" (Forbes Books) releases September 15, 2026. Order it from Don here: The Business of Storytelling. Simon Sinek's line on the cover calls Don one of the greatest storytellers of all time, and Dianna ordered two cases of it months before release day. Reading this before September 15? It is on pre-order now, and pre-ordering makes you a Founding Member of The Circle of Storytellers.

Don is teaching a session for Dianna's Inner Circle in 2027 — a small group where members get to bring him their own questions. If the 15-name exercise landed, that is exactly what the Inner Circle is: choosing the room you grow in. See how it works at diannak.com/mentorship.

If this one earned a rewind, share it with the person you would put in your first column. BE BOLD.

The week this episode airs, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate is 6.71%, its highest reading in more than a year (Freddie Mac, September 3). The Wall Street Journal reported in May that roughly 100,000 Realtors left the business in 2025, and NAR's membership count fell to 1,439,163 by June 2026. Dianna Kokoszka has seen this market before. In 2008, Mary Tennant, then president of Keller Williams Realty International, asked her to write a program that would keep agents in the business. More than 150,000 agents went through it, and many say it saved their careers. This solo episode is her 2026 version of that call.

Her argument is simple and she makes it from every angle: being licensed does not make you valuable in real estate. Skill does. The market pays for knowing what to say, how to say it, and when to say it; for negotiation, pricing, and difficult conversations; and for helping people make a confident decision when the information they used to need an agent for is already on their phone. Dianna walks through why motivation is unreliable and a ritual is reliable, why mastery lives in the boring middle, why confidence is preparation rather than personality, and how the Be, Do, Have, Give model reverses the "when I have more leads, I'll prospect" trap.

She closes with five questions every agent should answer honestly this week, and one instruction: develop the skills before desperation sets in, because development works best before the pipeline is empty.

In this episode

Timestamps

Quotes from this episode

Links

Sources mentioned in the notes

Dianna Kokoszka is the former CEO of KW MAPS Coaching, the creator of BOLD, the author of Becoming More, and the host of Becoming More with Dianna Kokoszka. Find her on Instagram and TikTok at @dianna.kokoszka and on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/diannakokoszka.

If this episode helped, subscribe and share it with an agent who needs to hear it this week. And always become more.

BE BOLD,

"If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go further, bring others along." In this episode of Becoming More, Dianna Kokoszka sits down with Inner Circle member Mackenzie Shelton, owner of the Prairie and Pine Real Estate Group. Mackenzie pulls back the curtain on the "rocky starts" of team ownership, including the bold move of buying out a business partner just two months before giving birth. They dive deep into the transition from a successful solo agent to a "Coaching Leader" who focuses on significance over just success. Key Topics Discussed: ☑️ The Power of Surrender: Why spirit-led living and letting go of control is the secret to peace in real estate. ☑️ The "Avatar" Strategy: The one piece of advice from Mackenzie’s coach that changed her hiring forever. ☑️ Risk & Writing: Mackenzie shares her new journey into authorship with Maxwell Leadership. ☑️ The Garden Metaphor: Why business growth is exactly like planting seeds, you don't see the progress immediately, but the work is happening underground. ☑️ Do It Messy: Mackenzie’s advice for agents stuck in their own heads. Connect with Host Dianna Kokoszka: Website: https://diannak.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dianna.kokoszka/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/diannakokoszka The Book: https://a.co/d/hQIpouq Merch & Growth Shop: https://dynamicgrowthcollective.com/shop Connect with Guest Mackenzie Shelton: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mackenzieleeshelton Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1DixPYh4Z8/ YouTube: https://m.youtube.com/@RootsandRoofs TikTok: @mahogany_acres_mama Timestamps 00:00 – Spirit-Led Living: Finding peace in an uncontrollable industry. 01:05 – Introduction: Meet Mackenzie Shelton of Prairie and Pine. 02:30 – The 11-Year Journey: Navigating Nebraska and Iowa real estate. 03:15 – The Rocky Start: Buying out a partner while postpartum. 05:36 – Why Most Teams Fail: Leverage vs. Leadership. 07:54 – Identifying Your Leadership Style: Why Mackenzie chooses "Coaching." 10:11 – The "Perfect Avatar": The #1 tip for building a team. 12:33 – Surrendering Control: Moving from "Bully" to Leader. 14:49 – Taking the Big Risk: Mackenzie’s journey to becoming an author. 17:12 – The Reality of Growth: It’s not a linear path. 19:32 – The Garden Metaphor: Consistency, Watering, and Sunlight. 22:13 – Do it Messy: Mackenzie’s advice. #BecomingMore #DiannaKokoszka #MackenzieShelton #RealEstateLeadership #MaxwellLeadership #Implementation #Mindset #TeamBuilding #DoItMessy

In this special "From the Vault" episode of Becoming More, we travel back to 1997 for a legendary conversation between Dianna Kokoszka and Howard Brinton (Star Power Club). Before she was a CEO and a global leadership icon, Dianna was a ferocious real estate agent who sold 104 homes in her very first year. How? She didn't rely on luck; she relied on physics, logic, and a mastery of scripts that are just as lethal today as they were decades ago. Dianna breaks down the specific dialogues she used to win For Sale By Owners (FSBOs), defend her commission, and move clients from "thinking about it" to signing the contract. If you are in sales, real estate, or leadership, this is a masterclass in persuasion. In this episode, you will learn: ☑️ The "Cue Ball" Strategy: How to set up your questions so the client has to give you the answer you want. ☑️ Informative vs. Persuasive: Why giving too much information kills the sale (and how to fix it). ☑️ The "Gut Gauge": How to ask the tough questions that get to the heart of the objection. ☑️ Systematizing Success: Applying the E-Myth philosophy to scale from a salesperson to a business owner. ☑️ The "Position Contract": How to hire and empower a team that actually works. Timestamps: [00:00:50] Intro: Howard Brinton introduces Dianna Kokoszka (104 homes in year one). [00:02:57] The McDonald’s Theory: Why realtors fail and franchises succeed. [00:14:50] The "Cue Ball" Logic: Never ask a question unless you know where the answer leads. [00:16:37] The FSBO Script: The difference between a "Problem" presentation and a "Solution" presentation. [00:21:21] Defending the Commission: The "Overtime" Analogy (Work 2 days, get paid for 1). [00:25:42] The Logic Trap: The "Pawn Shop" vs. "Auction" metaphor for pricing. [00:40:22] Stop Informing, Start Persuading: Why "features and benefits" kill the sale. [00:50:52] The Takeaway Close: "I'd rather turn you down now than let you down later." [01:13:28] The Guest Pass: How to protect your commission when buyers visit open houses without you. Additional Resources: Master the Scripts (Coaching Blitz): https://dynamicgrowthcollective.com/c... Join the Free Q&A: https://diannak.com Follow Dianna: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dianna.koko... YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BecomingMore... Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/diannakokoszka LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/diannak/ #RealEstateCoaching #SalesMastery #RealtorTips #OldSchoolSales #BecomingMorePodcast #DiannaKokoszka #SalesScripts #RealEstateAgent #MillionaireMindset #Throwback

Are you guilty of "Sales Malpractice"? In the medical world, if a doctor handed you a prescription without asking where it hurt, they would lose their license. Yet, in real estate, agents do this every single day. We "prescribe" listings, marketing plans, and open houses before we have ever truly "diagnosed" the client's problem. In this raw, Live Coaching episode of Becoming More, Dianna Kokoszka takes you behind the scenes of a tactical intervention. You will hear why the "Data Dump" presentation style is killing your conversion rates, especially in the tightening market of late 2025, and exactly how to fix it. Takeaways: ☑️ The Diagnosis Framework: How to stop assuming value and start uncovering it. ☑️ Live Roleplay Intervention: Listen as Dianna corrects a sales conversation in real-time, rewriting the script from "pushy" to "professional." ☑️ Mindset vs. Attitude: Why your "Internal Storyteller" is afraid to ask deep questions, and how to reprogram your subconscious to view "Diagnosis" as a duty, not an intrusion. ☑️ The Year-End Push: How to use the Diagnostic method to motivate hesitant buyers before the year ends. "Prescription without diagnosis is malpractice." This isn't just a quote, it's the standard for the top 1% of the industry. Stop guessing. Stop pitching. Start diagnosing. Chapter Markers & Key Moments 00:00 – The Versatility Gap: Why agents lose 25-30 transactions a year. 01:57 – Adaptability: How to shift scripts for Teachers, Nurses, and Engineers. 04:27 – The "No Desire" Roleplay: A counter-intuitive method to master objection handling. 06:22 – DISC in Action: Why being a "High C" personality cost Dianna 75% of her early listings. 10:43 – The Value Ladder: Understanding Value Proposition vs. Value Assumption. 12:27 – The Penicillin Analogy: Are you prescribing value that the client thinks is useless? 14:22 – Pre-Qualifying Expectations: The specific questions to ask before you enter the home. 21:53 – The Doctor Frame: "This is financial surgery"—how to set the stage for deep questioning. 28:04 – Live Coaching Intervention: Handling the "Probate & Hesitant Heir" objection. 29:11 – The Core Philosophy: "Prescription without diagnosis is malpractice." 30:08 – The "Coming Soon" Script: How to secure a contract even when the seller isn't ready to list. 34:52 – The Executive Analogy: A powerful script for high-level professionals trying to FSBO. 36:37 – The 4 Types of Buyers: Why For-Sale-By-Owners rarely attract the "Relocation Buyer." Mentioned in this Episode: ☑️ Book: Becoming More: You Can't Get to Better Until You Get to Different by Dianna Kokoszka https://a.co/d/hQIpouq ☑️ Join the Q&A: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/oZPoCW9MShO_NTAdRUUY0Q ☑️ Check Out Dianna's Other Offers: https://diannak.com Connect with Dianna: Instagram: @dianna.kokoszka LinkedIn: @diannakokoszka Facebook: @diannakokoszka #realestatecoaching #SalesMalpractice #LiveRoleplay #BecomingMore #DiannaKokoszka #ConsultativeSelling #RealEstateScripts2025 #MindsetShift #DiagnosisBeforePrescription

This holiday season, most of the world is slowing down, yet the top 1% of agents are just gearing up. In this special "Sneak Peek" episode of the Becoming More Podcast, Dianna Kokoszka invites you inside her private coaching room to challenge the idea that "optimism" is enough to save your business in 2025. We reveal why we are officially cancelling Black Friday to launch "Purple Friday" instead. If you are ready to trade hoping 2025 is a good year for actual commitment, keep listening. PURPLE FRIDAY SPECIAL OFFER: We are skipping the Black Friday "doom-and-gloom" for Purple Friday! Instead of buying more stuff or spending your holiday in lines, invest in your future. Get your ticket to Coaching Blitz 2026 in Austin, TX (April 13-15) for a massive discount limited time only. Secure your seat for under $1,000 (that's right saving $1500!) here: https://dynamicgrowthcollective.com/c...

What if a groundbreaking discovery could heal PTSD without meds or therapy sessions? In this eye-opening Veterans Day replay of Becoming More, Air Force veteran Shawn Mack unveils research-proven insights into transforming combat trauma through an unexpected natural approach. Drawing from studies on stem cell activation and the "Blue Mind" phenomenon, Shawn shares raw, real stories of vets overcoming tinnitus, rebuilding shattered marriages, and escaping the grip of suicide—backed by stats like 44% reduced depression in just one trip. From Marine founder Nick Powers' battle with alcoholism to his rise as a world-champion despite devastating injuries, discover how science and teamwork are rewriting recovery. If you're seeking hope for veterans or innovative mental health breakthroughs, this episode delivers. Support the mission at warfighterscuba.org and join events like the Hog Heaven shoot. Subscribe for more tales of resilience and growth! #VeteransDay #PTSDScience #VeteranRecovery #MentalHealthBreakthrough #HealingHeroes

In this conversation, Dianna Kokoszka and Loredana Ghete discuss the critical role of personal leadership growth and development in achieving success.  Loredana shares transformative experiences from Inner Circle events that pushed her out of her comfort zone and highlights the significance of building strong relationships within a community of leaders. They also touches on the concept of excellence as a choice and the necessity of investing in oneself to foster both personal and professional growth.

Follow our guest Loredana Ghete

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/loredanaghete/?hl=en

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/loredana-ghete-95213b101

Follow Dianna:

✨ Be sure to check out Dianna's NEW Dynamic Growth Shop for all your empowering merch—designed to inspire and elevate your journey!

In this episode Dianna and Suzy discuss the Inner Circle program with John Maxwell. They explore how being surrounded by like-minded individuals fosters personal and professional growth, the importance of implementing learned strategies, and the value of experiential learning. Suzy shares her personal journey throughout her membership, including a significant increase in income, and emphasizes the importance of collaboration and accountability in leadership.

Follow our guest Suzy Kopp:

Website: https://charlestonbeachlifehomes.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/charlestonbeachlifehomes/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzy-kopp-85178211

✨ Be sure to check out Dianna's NEW Dynamic Growth Shop for all your empowering merch—designed to inspire and elevate your journey!

Follow Dianna:

✨ Be sure to check out Dianna's NEW Dynamic Growth Shop for all your empowering merch—designed to inspire and elevate your journey!