Inspired by bestselling author and journalist Charles Duhigg’s research on how the best students and teachers excel. With the new school year starting, parents and kids are adjusting to new routines and fresh classrooms. But the research on how people actually master new skills is not just for students. As some of you know, besides […]
Four Blueprints for Turning Vision into Reality
Listening to my bachelor’s degree students pitch their business dreams this past week brought a jolt of energy into the room. Their drive is infectious. They see clear problems to solve, markets to capture, and lives they want to build. Sitting there listening, I kept coming back to a single question: What actually turns a […]
Being Larger Than the Situation
Here is a simple test for your mindset today: Do your circumstances dictate your mood? Or do you choose your mindset, and treat the situation as simply something to respond to? One sign of mental toughness is being larger than the situation. The less your mood depends on your circumstances, the more mentally tough you […]
Configure the AI Before You Configure the Deal
Inspired by a recent Mark Cuban post on X. Mark Cuban posted a concept recently that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about. He noted that if he were a doctor with a private practice, he wouldn’t just hand a patient a referral and send them home. Instead, he would sit down with them […]
The Shiny Penny vs. The Consistent Producer: A Lesson from Pope Leo
I was listening to Pope Leo’s homily recently, and my mind eventually went to how I could apply this to you, to recruiting, and to retention. Say what? Stick with me for a second. Reflecting on beauty, Pope Leo pointed out something we all quietly know but rarely act on: we equate value with a […]
Busy Is Not the Same as Productive
Inspired by Jessi Hempel’s piece “The Case for Doing Fewer Things at Once” and her Hello Monday conversation with Cal Newport. Jessi Hempel wrote something recently that I have not been able to shake. She first put out a series on time in August 2024 because she was tired of getting to the end of […]
The Moonwalk Problem: Why Your Best Agent Crashes After Their Best Year
Inspired by a recent Scott D. Clary Success Story podcast conversation with Bear Grylls. On July 20, 1969, Buzz Aldrin walked on the Moon. He came home to ticker tape parades, heads of state, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. A few years later he was selling cars at a Cadillac dealership, drinking heavily, and […]
Consistency Is Not a Personality Trait. It Is a Memory.
Consider this: Consistency may not be something you were born with or born without. It might be a memory your brain builds every time you complete what you started. I hear the other version constantly from broker owners, recruiters, loan officers, and top producers. “I’m just not a consistent person.” “My top agent has that […]
What Would You Try If You Didn’t Know It Was Hard?
If you are a real estate broker, lead a region or office, manage a mortgage team, or operate as a top producing agent or affiliate partner you are well aware that new agents sometimes earn a big win. You often ask yourself how they did that. The answer is simple. They did not know it […]
Radical Efficiency and Deep Roots: Thriving in Brutal Conditions
As some of you know, I live in Southern California, driving distance from both Death Valley and Mount Whitney. I’m currently training for a half marathon, with the possibility of progressing to a full marathon. My commitment deadline is early September. To give my joints a break, I dedicate my off days to rowing or […]