Start With A Win

On this episode of Start With A Win, Adam is joined by Lisa Nguyen, RE/MAX Professionals agent, current Greater Denver Chapter President of AREAA, and regionally-acclaimed business leader. The daughter of Vietnamese refugees, Lisa was taught early on the value of hard work and determination in setting and reaching goals. She first got her real estate license in 2005, and after weathering the recession in the industry, she spent 5 years in the corporate world before returning to real estate in 2016 and she has never looked back. 

Lisa has committed her career to reaching out to Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders who want to understand the real estate industry and own homes of their own. Through her involvement with Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA) and her participation in a metro-area real estate task force focusing on serving minority populations well, Lisa has had the opportunity to educate and guide agents and organizations in fair housing practices. Many people are unaware that they are violating fair housing regulations regarding protected classes, but by providing these resources Lisa and her colleagues are working together for the greater good among this rapidly growing minority population. 

Her humble demeanor is a direct result of her daily mindset of gratitude and her commitment to continually learning from those around her and through reading topical books that keep her focus sharp and her motivation on point. 

Links:

“Think and Grow Rich” book: https://www.amazon.com/Think-Grow-Rich-Landmark-Bestseller/dp/1585424331 

Connect with Lisa:

https://www.remax.com/real-estate-agents/lisa-nguyen-lakewood-co/100698453

https://areaa.org/greaterdenver/leadership-board/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-nguyen-remax/

https://www.facebook.com/lisanguyenremax 

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

Beginning his adult life as an elementary school teacher, Sekou Andrews got into acting for a while before finding his niche as a spoken word artist focusing on poetic voice and sharing his gift with leaders across industries. He describes his speaking style as “TED Talk meets Hamilton” in the seamless integration of inspirational speaking and spoken word poetry. It is no wonder why his audiences are so captivated by his message.

Sekou emphasizes the importance of both what you say and how you say it, stating that there is power to engage your audience through your words as well as the delivery. He coaches people from stage fright to stage might by having them learn from performance artists and apply the concepts they observe to whatever stage they have. His 3 key concepts for this are: (1) humanize yourself and your content, (2) connect with your audience through storytelling, and (3) storytelling really begins with story-listening.

When asked how he taps into the passion within himself, he says that it is important for him to see himself as a storyteller before focusing on his technique, being grounded in his purpose and how he can serve the listener. A big part of this is loving what he does and setting his mindset at the beginning of every day on the purpose he is trying to embody.

Connect with Sekou:

http://sekouandrews.com/

http://www.twitter.com/sekouandrews

http://www.facebook.com/sekouandrews

http://www.linkedin.com/in/sekou

https://www.instagram.com/sekouworld/

https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/sekou-tha-misfit/id410616272

http://www.youtube.com/user/sekouworld 

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/ 

Question 1: The first question on this episode of Start With A Win came from Ryan Anderson of RE/MAX Horizon Realty in Douglas, Wyoming. She asked Adam to give his top five books to read, especially during this time of social distancing and quarantine.

Answer 1:

• “The Compound Effect” by Darren Hardy
• “Atomic Habits” by James Clear
• “Influence, the Psychology of Persuasion” by Robert Cialdini
• “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie
• “Extreme Ownership” by Jocko Willink and Lief Babin

Question 2: Next, Gary Kelly of RE/MAX Executive Realty in Massachusetts asked Adam to talk about the tension between those people in real estate and business who believe that their work is “essential” and that they should continue to be out and about (while taking the right precautions) and those who believe that we should be working in complete isolation.

Answer 2: Adam says that the answer is not binary because it is not as simple as “essential” and “non-essential.” The ultimate goal of all of our business dealings right now should be safety first, so that might look different to different people or in different geographic areas. Avoid any situations where you might put yourself or others in danger of getting sick and make judgment calls along the way that align with that methodology. 

Question 3: Our last question on this episode is from Sue Deighton of RE/MAX Performance Realty in Winnipeg. She wants to know who has shaped Adam’s positive personal and professional growth.

Answer 3: There are 4 sources of personal and professional growth:

• Mentors – These are usually relationships you have built that are pouring into you for free, asking you the hard questions and calling you out when you need it.
• Coaches – Coaches typically help you in one area of your life or business in exchange for pay.
• Masterminds – These are groups that you can join with likeminded individuals who are all on the same journey as you and will hold you accountable along the way.
• Self-Education – During times like these, many people are taking courses online to learn new skills or attain new certifications. The second half of this self-education is the actual application of this new knowledge.

Links:

Rodecaster Pro: https://www.amazon.com/Rode-RODECaster-Podcast-Production-Studio/dp/B07M5LQ1YZ 

“The Compound Effect” by Darren Hardy: https://www.amazon.com/Compound-Effect-Darren-Hardy/dp/159315724X 

“Atomic Habits” by James Clear: https://www.amazon.com/Atomic-Habits-Proven-Build-Break/dp/0735211299 

“Influence, The Psychology of Persuasion” by Robert Cialdini: https://www.amazon.com/Influence-Psychology-Persuasion-Robert-Cialdini/dp/006124189X 

“How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie: https://www.amazon.com/How-Win-Friends-Influence-People/dp/0671027034 

“Extreme Ownership” by Jocko Willink and Lief Babin: https://www.amazon.com/Extreme-Ownership-U-S-Navy-SEALs/dp/1250067057 

“Trillion Dollar Coach” by Alan Eagle, Eric Schmidt, and Jonathan Rosenberg: https://www.amazon.com/Trillion-Dollar-Coach-Leadership-Playbook/dp/0062839268 

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

Seeing the size and effectiveness of Buffini and Company now, you would never believe that Brian Buffini stumbled into real estate after a motorcycle accident when he was 19. He tells Adam on this episode of the Start With A Win podcast about that experience and how he built a business around speaking and coaching organically, solely based on the demand for his knowledge and speaking abilities at industry conferences and panels. He was already “on board” with real estate before that point, believing that it is the purest and fairest form of business, but from his first experience connecting with likeminded people at real estate conferences, he knew that this was where he was meant to be.

Brian and his team build their business around a few key beliefs, among them: build relationships for life, be a good person, treat people well, and prioritize personal growth. While the way business is done has changed temporarily because of this pandemic, the foundations remain the same. In fact, Brian says that these abrupt changes are serving as a magnifying glass in our lives, pointing out issues at home, in your business, with your finances, with your health, etc. He says that now is the time to address the changes that need to be made and commit the time and energy to work on those issues while you have the time in front of you.

When it comes to mindset during this time, Brian emphasizes the importance of keeping the right perspective of “this too shall pass” and being flexible. This is the time to reach out to your friends and business associates to check on them and maintain the relationships. This is the time to prepare through training and working on your systems to make sure you are ready to hit the ground running when we get the green light to begin business as usual. In terms of business adjustments, Brian says that those with strong foundations in the fundamentals will win this round and that it is important to utilize technology to enhance the connections with your clients. Don’t sit back and assume that you should be in “maintenance mode” until the pandemic is over. Take advantage of this time to prepare yourself and your business.

Links:

https://www.buffiniandcompany.com/resources/bc/

https://www.nar.realtor/coronavirus

https://news.remax.com/

Connect with Brian:

https://www.buffiniandcompany.com/

https://www.brianbuffini.com/

https://www.thebrianbuffinishow.com/ 

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/ 

Our guest on this episode of Start With A Win needs almost no introduction. Steve Young is considered to be one of the NFL’s greatest left-handed quarterbacks, but he would not consider his athletic success to be among his greatest achievements. Steve says that football is like a laboratory that teaches you about the hard work, adversity, accountability, and constraints that you will face throughout life and many of life’s lessons have started to work themselves out for him on the field.

When Steve was a freshman in college at BYU in 1983, an organization called Children’s Miracle Network was in its early days and Steve was asked to partner with them to bring awareness to the need for fundraising for children’s hospitals. At that time in his life, Steve had never been to a hospital and he was shocked to see how many children were suffering. Ever since that day, he has been involved with Children’s Miracle Network and he is continually inspired by the hope and determination displayed by the children he comes in contact with through the organization. We can all learn from the spirit demonstrated by these kids who believe that they will rise above their circumstances and find healing. 

Steve says that as adults we lose a bit of our innocent belief in ourselves and those around us, thinking that life is a zero-sum game that no one really wins. But in reality, if we embrace the qualities displayed by the Children’s Miracle Network champion kids, we would find that through collaboration and banding together we can all win. So many people are limiting themselves unnecessarily by comparing themselves to others, but comparison is the thief of joy and will never serve you well.

Links:

https://childrensmiraclenetworkhospitals.org/ 

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

Our guest on this episode of the Start With A Win podcast is one of the best in our field at leveraging excellent managerial skills inside her brokerage, as well as building relationships online in order to bolster her business and create a culture of community. Kendall Bonner became an attorney in 2003 and practiced law for several years before she realized that it was not what she wanted to do with her life. Lacking clear direction about what was next, she got her real estate license “just for fun,” and the rest is history.

Kendall has found that one of her biggest motivations is just being a part of RE/MAX and having access to some of the best agents and systems around. She focuses on staying humble and grateful regardless of her victories and losses, choosing to face challenges with a confident smile. Since she started her brokerage in 2014, she has found that her greatest assets are the people she surrounds herself with and the structures they use as a framework, namely the Momentum business system developed by RE/MAX. By having the right staff and systems in place, Kendall says it is easier to face challenges and avoid common pitfalls that may have tripped her up otherwise.

When it comes to being present online, Kendall cannot emphasize enough the importance of growth and engagement. She believes in being intentional and proactive, genuinely interacting with the people engaging with her posts and building up a following that knows, likes, and trusts her. Kendall strategically replies to every comment and extends the life of her posts while ensuring that she is continually growing and staying relevant. Right now, she is in the middle of a “100 videos in 100 days” challenge with her team as a way to encourage herself and those around her to finetune their craft.

Links:

“The Social Agent 2.0” book: https://www.amazon.com/social-agent-2-0-update-evolution/dp/1982051833

Connect with Kendall:

https://www.instagram.com/improveyourhustle/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kendallbonner/

https://www.facebook.com/KendallEBonner

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/ 

Adam and Mark discuss the recent changes in our world as a result of the coronavirus and talk about ways that listeners can continue to start with a win even when everything seems so different than normal. The response mandated by health officials and governments all over the world is significantly more stringent than the typical response to influenza, and this is likely the only pandemic any of us have ever lived through. Everyone seems to be dealing with these changes and restrictions differently, ranging from crippling fear to careless abandon and anywhere in between.

Adam’s advice is to listen to the doctors and government officials and see this as an opportunity to reconnect with your loved ones and be more intentional about spending quality time with them while practicing safe social distancing. He asserts that if you are stuck in a cycle of fear-mongering or doubt, take a step back and evaluate what you can do with what you have, doing everything you can to protect yourself and those around you. For business leaders, the most important thing you can do is be visible and available to your team. Send out daily emails, videos, or texts to encourage and check in on them.

In the real estate realm, house showings are still feasible through virtual tours, and if you do meet with clients in person, don’t be afraid to ask them if they are feeling well or if they have been in contact with anyone who has COVID-19. It is in everyone’s best interests if you are honest with yourself and others about how you are feeling and that you demonstrate good hygiene practices to those around you.

Take heart that while the markets are rough right now, they will bounce back in time. Do what you can to support local businesses in your community by ordering takeout or patronizing them online when possible. With all of this unexpected free time, be active and create a healthy routine for yourself and your family. Pay attention to those around you and do what you can to reach out while practicing social distancing. We are all in this together.

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