Start With A Win

It’s easy to lose focus with so much going on in the world today—between social media, streaming and the constant influx of news. We have so much coming at us, and it’s trying to steal our focus!

In this episode of Start With A Win, Adam dives into the topic of focus and how to become more focused so you can be more productive in your everyday life.

Focus consists of two things:

1. Will Power
2. Attention

Will power is our internal energy. Our will power can be stolen through criticism, burdens, distractions, lack of sleep and nutrition, etc. So how do we build up and maintain our internal energy? 

One of the best things you can do to ensure you have plenty of internal energy is to get enough sleep! When you wake up in the morning, do you feel rested? That determines a lot of your energy for the day. It’s also important to make sure you’re getting QUALITY sleep. You’re supposed to sleep when it’s dark, you’re supposed to be awake when it’s light! That’s what’s called circadian rhythms. And that means… Remove the blue light from your room! A good night’s sleep leads to a good energy level in the morning.

Ultradian rhythms are the cycles of energy throughout your day. Look for the times when you have the highest level of focus, and those are the times when you should plan to do your best work.

Check out Adam’s morning routine, beginning at 4:30am!

• Drink a glass of water, take vitamins and MCT oil, have a cup of coffee
• Work for an hour
• Go to the gym, listen to a podcast
• Creative time

Attention is a learned habit or skill. Figure out what you’re going to work on, and shut down everything else! 

The combination of will-power and attention is how you develop focus.

If you feel like you’re burdened and running around all day long, you’ve not found that window. You need to look for those times when you’re looking for a pad and paper because you’ve got an idea to write down. When those ideas are generating, your brain is saying it’s ready to go to work! 

When is your window of focus in your day?

Episode Links:

Circadian Rhythms: https://www.sleepfoundation.org/circadian-rhythm

Ultradian Rhythms: https://www.bluezones.com/2020/06/how-taking-breaks-can-increase-productivity-boost-energy-levels-and-help-you-show-up-in-your-life/

Adam’s Whoop Band: https://www.whoop.com

MCT Oil: https://www.webmd.com/diet/mct-oil-health-benefits-common-uses

Baroque Music Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4DvteColbVCrs7iIgc4r6x?si=33fc11a8997f4db6

Lo-Fi Beats Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/71d99pLh0TpbdIJESHAsDN?si=0be9d1740f6c4aa3

Bullet-Proof Coffee: https://www.thecookierookie.com/bulletproof-coffee-recipe/

Collagen Powder: https://www.amazon.com/Vital-Proteins-Collagen-Peptides-Pasture-Raised/dp/B00K6JUG4K

Order your copy of Start With A Win: Tools and Lessons to Create Personal and Business Success:

https://www.startwithawin.com/book

Connect with Adam:

https://www.startwithawin.com/

https://www.facebook.com/REMAXAdamContos

https://twitter.com/REMAXAdamContos

https://www.instagram.com/REMAXadamcontos/

Leave us a voicemail:

888-581-4430

When you lead, you influence. So that means it's crucial that you take your role seriously as a leader!

Connect with Adam:

https://www.startwithawin.com/ 

https://www.facebook.com/REMAXAdamContos

https://twitter.com/REMAXAdamContos 

https://www.instagram.com/REMAXadamcontos/

Ría, the Founder and CEO of RíOrganize, is a SoCal native who is loving life in Texas as a wife, mother, and business owner. She's always had a knack for creativity, but it wasn't until becoming a mom of 3 that she began to appreciate the stress relief organization can offer, which was the foundation of her luxury home organization business. As someone who is messy by nature, Ría loves sharing her tools with others. As she says, “You don’t have to be born with it—organization can be learned, practiced and perfected.” 

Since starting RíOrganize, her company has helped thousands of families transform their spaces and has equipped each one with the tools and knowledge needed to make organization stick long after the team is gone. She has also grown a following on Instagram where she loves pulling the curtain and sharing behind the scenes of her family life. 

Ría shares about her journey from a naturally messy person to owning a nationwide company that helps others organize their homes. Organization was something she had to practice and teach herself. After getting married and having children, she realized how prioritizing organization actually gave her the freedom and ability to be a better wife, mom and professional.

Ría started RíOrganize in 2016 as a side hustle after years in the commercial real estate industry. What started as a few jobs here and there for friends and family has now grown to a dozen employees and four locations across the country. She’s now had the opportunity to work with many celebrities, including Chrissy Teigen and James Charles. “At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter the money or fame, everyone needs organization in their life… It’s less about gifting people organization and more about giving people back their time.” 

Ría explains that the state of your home is going to affect you mentally. Organization systems and processes set you up for little wins throughout your day. Having systems dialed in are the most important part of that.

She also shares that one of the most important things you can learn is knowing when you can’t do something by yourself. It’s what helped her business scale—like knowing that accounting was just not her thing and hiring someone to help with that instead!

Episode Links:

Instagram @RíOrganize

https://www.RíOrganize.com

Order your copy of Start With A Win: Tools and Lessons to Create Personal and Business Success:

https://www.startwithawin.com/book

Connect with Adam:

https://www.startwithawin.com/

https://www.facebook.com/REMAXAdamContos

https://twitter.com/REMAXAdamContos

https://www.instagram.com/REMAXadamcontos/

Leave us a voicemail:

888-581-4430

John Featherston launched RISMedia in 1980, and it has since become the leader in real estate information, servicing more than 500,000 of the residential real estate industry’s most productive and successful agents, brokers and related service professionals. 

A thought leader and frequent speaker, John was awarded the 2015 RE/MAX “On the Shoulders of Giants” Award, recognizing his longtime support of the real estate industry.

Whether you’re in the real estate world, or a completely different line of work, how information affects your industry is important. Information is currency, and information in the real estate sector has to be accurate, it can’t be speculative.

John shares about the beginnings of RISMedia when there were no personal computers. If you had information, it was difficult to parse it out and get it to potential clients. John understood that the value of information in real estate is not location, location, location; it’s the ability of purveying information to prospects. It’s also about proving to potential clients that you are the right person to be guiding them through the process.

John encourages listeners to spend time every morning looking for the latest, bite-sized piece of information that they can share with someone that day. He commissions us to be the purveyors of the information our neighbors want to know about the real estate industry. 

“You need to be up on what’s happening, and you need to be pushing [it] out to your sphere of influence, so they look at you as their go-to resource.”

John and Adam also explore the topic of good information versus bad information, and how to make sure you are always getting the best information possible. 

John also shares about the many tools and resources available through RISMedia that can equip them with the knowledge and information they need to be the best real estate professionals possible.

• RISMedia's CEO & Leadership Exchange, Washington, DC Sept 6 - 8, 2022
• RISMedia's Premier - exclusive content for members
• RISMedia's 2022 Real Estate Newsmakers, announced Feb. 1
• RISMedia's 2022 Power Broker Report, launching April 1

Episode Links:

https://www.rismedia.com

ACESocial

https://acesocial.rismedia.com

Order your copy of Start With A Win: Tools and Lessons to Create Personal and Business Success:

https://www.startwithawin.com/book

Connect with Adam:

https://www.startwithawin.com/

https://www.facebook.com/REMAXAdamContos

https://twitter.com/REMAXAdamContos

https://www.instagram.com/REMAXadamcontos/

Leave us a voicemail:

888-581-4430

Connect with Adam:

https://www.startwithawin.com/ 

https://www.facebook.com/REMAXAdamContos

https://twitter.com/REMAXAdamContos 

https://www.instagram.com/REMAXadamcontos/

Brian Reese is the founder and CEO of VA Claims Insider, and he is one of the world's leading experts in veteran benefits. Through his company, he’s helped millions of veterans secure their financial future since 2013. A former active-duty air force officer, Brian deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. A veteran himself who personally struggled with the disability claim system, Brian started a company that coaches veterans through the claim process. Now, he has written the book, You Deserve It: The Definitive Guide to Getting the Veteran Benefits You’ve Earned.

Following his last tour in Afghanistan in 2011, Brian faced many mental and physical issues upon his return home. However, he didn’t want to talk about these things which led to some very destructive tendencies. However, it was through this journey that he learned how to open up and be vulnerable. Brian challenges listeners to ask themselves these questions: Are you being the real you? And are you being honest with family and friends? 

Brian’s true breakthrough was getting out of his own way by being honest about what he struggled with. Outside of his wife and children, his family and friends didn’t previously know  any of his true struggles. But when he started opening up, it was as if he saw his entire life open up. Eventually, other veterans started reaching out and sharing how much they resonated with his struggles and his stories. He watched that vulnerability lead to a movement of veterans helping veterans, paving the way for VA Claims Insider. 

Through VA Claims Insider, Brian’s team helps veterans get the benefits they’ve earned for their service. They partner them with an expert coach who will walk with them through the VA disability claims process from beginning to end, ensuring they are never alone and making what’s confusing very simple and easy.

Brian talks about the process of writing his book, You Deserve It: The Definitive Guide to Getting the Veteran Benefits You’ve Earned, which sold 10,000 copies in its first month of release! The book details all of the federal and state benefits as well as many other discount programs available to veterans and their families.

The two round out the conversation by talking about Brian’s journey as an entrepreneur and how he carried his military experience into a growing, thriving business. And his two pieces of advice to fellow entrepreneurs? Be a self-motivated self-starter and persevere through adversity by being willing to constantly re-invent yourself.

Episode Links:

https://vaclaimsinsider.com

Free E-Book: You Deserve It: The Definitive Guide to Getting the Veteran Benefits You’ve Earned:

https://www.youdeserveitfree.com/freedom1

Order your copy of Start With A Win: Tools and Lessons to Create Personal and Business Success:

https://www.startwithawin.com/book

Connect with Adam:

https://www.startwithawin.com/

https://www.facebook.com/REMAXAdamContos

https://twitter.com/REMAXAdamContos

https://www.instagram.com/REMAXadamcontos/

Leave us a voicemail:

888-581-4430

In this episode of Start With A Win, Adam talks with Ryan Estis about the importance of employee well-being and how it can impact the long-term success of an organization. 

Ryan has more than 20 years of experience as a top-performing sales professional and leader. Twelve years ago, he decided to put that experience into practice and launch is own learning and advisory organization. He developed the Virtual Wellness series, a live, interactive program, complete with a curriculum grounded in original research on what employees need to thrive. The series features five modules focused on employee well-being:

1. Peak Performance: Unleashing Your Potential Into the World
2. Emotional Resilience: Responding to Change, Challenge & Adversity
3. An Introduction to Mindfulness: The Art of Presence
4. The Communication Revolution:  Building High Trust High Value Relationships
5. Fit for Service: An Introduction to Physical Wellness & Nutrition

Ryan shares that the COVID-19 pandemic was really just a tipping point for employee wellness and well-being. People have felt overworked, lonely and burned out for years, but it has been a call to action for leaders to get more involved in this issue.

People are reconsidering their relationship with work. Ryan shares the statistic that the average white collar worker worked three more hours per day during the pandemic. But the Great Resignation is showing us that throughout the last 18 months, our perspective has been reset. Unhealthy balance in life and work just might not be worth it anymore. 

That’s where a bigger focus on employee wellness must come in. And the programs must be about more than the apps for meditation or Bring Your Dog to Work Day. People seek balance and flexibility and want to have fulfillment. They are shifting from organizing their lives around work to now wanting to organize work around how they want to live their life.

Ryan also shares that the impact of focusing on employee well-being goes beyond the productivity and fulfillment of the individual. It has a great impact on the long-term success of an organization. If your focus as a leader or board is only on quarterly performance and maximizing shareholder value, you’re missing the longer-term opportunity. It’s not just a moral obligation, it’s speaking to the long-term health of the organization.

Episode Links:

Virtual Wellness Series: https://ryanestis.com/topics/corporate-training/virtual-wellness-series/

Connect with Ryan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanestis/

Follow Ryan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanestis/

Order your copy of Start With A Win: Tools and Lessons to Create Personal and Business Success:

https://www.startwithawin.com/book

Connect with Adam:

https://www.startwithawin.com/

https://www.facebook.com/REMAXAdamContos

https://twitter.com/REMAXAdamContos

https://www.instagram.com/REMAXadamcontos/

Leave us a voicemail:

888-581-4430

Adam shares how employing these two simple, magic A-words can help you see results in your life!

Connect with Adam:

https://www.startwithawin.com/ 

https://www.facebook.com/REMAXAdamContos

https://twitter.com/REMAXAdamContos 

https://www.instagram.com/REMAXadamcontos/

In this episode of Start With A Win, Adam talks to Juliet Funt, the founder and CEO of The Juliet Funt Group, an efficiency training firm. Juliet and her firm are on a mission to “de-crapify” work, helping business leaders and organizations unleash their full potential by unburdening talent from busywork. She is a renowned keynote speaker and tough-love advisor. Juliet is the author of A Minute to Think: Reclaim Creativity, Conquer Busyness, and Do Your Best Work. 

Between meetings, emails, reports, and decks, there are so many low-value tasks that sit on top of the talented people in organizations today. It keeps our teams from being able to do their best work. And COVID has only made the problem worse with more Zoom meetings, over communication, and extra emails. 

Juliet shares her analogy of building a fire and how creating space between the materials is essential to allow oxygenation to happen. In the same way, people need to have space to not only recuperate, but to step back and think and let ideas build. Team members and leaders can be more creative and engaged when they’re allowed a strategic pause to think purposely about the next chapter of a project or the business. 

Juliet believes that leadership is often over-focused on the logistical questions of “where” (where people sit, where should people work, where we sell) when they should be focused on “how” (how do we want to communicate, how do we want people to work). These questions pave the way for a redesign opportunity in how organizations operate.

Juliet also shares about what she calls The Wedge, which is a wedge of time inserted between two activities in your day—between a meeting and a meeting, an emotionally challenging email and your response response. By taking a few micro-moments to process what just happened rather than just jumping to the next thing, our brain can actually better retain information and think more critically. And even if it’s only for a few minutes, that “white space” should be completely open time, think about anything we want in those times, which also gives our brain time for ideation and creativity.

Episode Links:

https://www.julietfunt.com

A Minute to Think: Reclaim Creativity, Conquer Busyness, and Do Your Best Work
https://www.julietfunt.com/book/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/thejulietfunt

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julietfunt/

Order your copy of Start With A Win: Tools and Lessons to Create Personal and Business Success:

https://www.startwithawin.com/book

Connect with Adam:

https://www.startwithawin.com/

https://www.facebook.com/REMAXAdamContos

https://twitter.com/REMAXAdamContos

https://www.instagram.com/REMAXadamcontos/

Leave us a voicemail:

888-581-4430

It’s time to kick off 2022, and Adam Contos is here to help you make it one of your best years yet! Whether you’re listening to this episode at the beginning of the year while you’re making your resolutions—or you need to hit that reset button in July—Adam’s 5 Ways to Start 2022 With A Win will give you the tools you need to take ownership of both your professional and your personal lives this year.

1. Write it Down

Grab a good ol’ fashioned pen and paper (don’t worry, we won’t be mad if it’s your favorite notes app), and write yourself a contract that says, “In 2022 I am going to do the following,” and make a list. Make a list of the things you want to commit to doing this year—and sign it! Be accountable to yourself. This is often scary for people, because they don’t want to fully commit to something that feels like a fleeting decision based upon their feelings. But remember: Your feelings will keep you from achieving more than not! 

And in the spirit of 2022, go beyond what you think you can do and employ the plus-two mindset. Make your list of goals, and add two! You always want to be one step better than what you think you can be, but what if you were two steps better? Want to make 10 sales calls per day? What if you made 12 instead? Whether in business or exercise or relationships, those additional two add up over time!

2. Learn to Love Learning

Make a learning list of what you want to accomplish this year, and make a plan to make it happen. And if you actually learned to love learning, what would the results be?

3. Give What You’ve Learned

Now it’s time to put that learning into action! Take the things you’ve learned and give it to people. Look for opportunities to help other people get better by sharing what you learned. The best way to improve upon what you’ve learned is to actually put into practice.

4. Create Your Stop Doing List

This is probably the most painful one! But it’s time to get rid of the dead growth in your life. What are those things in your life that are sucking up your time, resources, and mental space? Is it a game on your phone? Grabbing a handful of chips from the pantry? Online shopping? Make this list and keep it growing, because you’ll continue to run across things.

5. Take Stock of Your Relationships

Ask yourself this question: Are the people I spend the most time with helping me become the person I want to be? Adam proposes that the people you spend time with will dictate the way your 2022 will look. So, switch your minutes to the people you want to become.

Episode Links:

Jessica Gunn, Gunning for Fitness

https://gunning4fitness.com

The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy

https://www.amazon.com/Compound-Effect-Darren-Hardy/dp/159315724X

Order your copy of Start With A Win: Tools and Lessons to Create Personal and Business Success:

https://www.startwithawin.com/book

Connect with Adam:

https://www.startwithawin.com/

https://www.facebook.com/REMAXAdamContos

https://twitter.com/REMAXAdamContos

https://www.instagram.com/REMAXadamcontos/

Leave us a voicemail:

888-581-4430