Powerfully Compelling Lessons of Success Through Authenticity and Purpose with Chris Abazis

[0:00] Welcome to the REI Agent, a holistic approach to life through real estate. I’m Matthias, an agent and investor. And I’m Erica, a licensed therapist. Join us as we interview guests that also strive to live bold and fulfilled lives through business and real estate investing. Tune in every week for interviews with real estate agents and investors. Ready to level up? Let’s do it.

[0:24] Welcome back to the REI Agent. And we had a great conversation with Chris, and we’ll get into that here in a moment. But one of the topics we discussed and one of the things that we kind of wanted to talk a little bit more about was essentially the Platinum Rule, which most people have heard of the Golden Rule, which is do unto others as you would have them do to you. Did I get it? Nailed it. But really, I think what we’re finding, I think there’s been a lot of books written kind of around this topic. But what we really should be striving towards is to do to others what they would want, you know, how they want to be treated, right? You should focus on that. Which I know that, for example, love languages for our marriages is one of the popular things here recently.

[1:11] I don’t know how recent that book is, but it feels like that’s been a more recent trend to understand what it is that you want and how I can express my love to you that you feel it and vice versa. Yeah. And I think that’s definitely something that is important to consider as well with your business. He talked about really going into a niche and understanding who you are selling to and understanding your niche and then, you know, giving them information, giving them social media content, giving them, you know, marketing that really edifies them, you know, things that just speak to them. Because often we are just putting out things that don’t really give them any value. Sure, it gets us out there.

[1:57] It says, hey, look at me. I’m successful, whatever. But it doesn’t really actually speak to them. And I think that this is a parallel, too, in just having good relationships in your house. So, yeah. I mean, so my love language would be like words of affirmation primarily, right? Which is the one that I’m the worst at. We are a happy married couple.

[2:21] I think my natural way of loving people is acts of service. Which is your love language, right? Right. But what I’m saying is it’s not the way you receive love necessarily. And so it takes a lot of intentionality for me to remember to tell you the things that I appreciate about you. Yeah. And I think that it also is something that acts of service is also something that I don’t always do naturally. I think I could definitely do better than that. I know that, for example, bringing you coffee in the morning is like really big. It’s a great start to the day. That’s really something I should work at trying to do every morning. I like that. See? It works.

[3:05] But one of the things that we had talked about, too, is like your kids and kind of showing up for them and how do they feel that they are loved. And the immediate thing that came to my mind is I had this realization with one of our kids is that they like to every once in a while kind of get in my face and annoy me. And it might be an age thing. I’m not sure exactly if that will be something that they’ll grow out of. But they like to kind of get in my face, like kind of do things that will frustrate me. And when I’m really stressed out and work mode and all that stuff, it’s really hard to see through and not just get frustrated. But when I’m in a good place and I’m going to say here, I’m not always in a good place.

[3:47] I can sense, I can realize, okay, they want to engage with me. They want to interact with me. And so if I just turn it around and just start tickling them and wrestling with them, that’s exactly what they want. And it just makes it a lot of fun. It takes that moment of frustration into like a really playful, fun thing that I enjoy as well then, too. But it’s really hard when I’m not in the right mind space to understand what they’re asking for, basically. Yeah, and they have not asked to, or they have not learned to ask for it in an appropriate way yet, either. Yeah. And they know that one way to get your attention very quickly is to mess with your technology. Yeah. And that gets your attention real fast.

[4:32] We have a lock in this room. Nobody’s allowed in here. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, each of our kids seems to feel loved in a very different way. Because another one of our kids just loves to be cuddled and held. Yeah. Which that one is a little bit harder for me because I’m not somebody who sits very often because I’m often up doing a lot of things. But they just want to be on someone’s lap or held on the couch. And so that takes some – I have to think and stop and think about needing to just stop what I’m doing even though it’s not done and sitting and holding them for a while. Yeah, actually this morning we – they were not moving very fast and trying to hide and avoid getting into the car to go to school.

[5:25] Doing everything they can to basically delay the process. And I saw it – we’ve had this – we’ve done this dance many times. And I told them, hey, look, this is going to end with me getting really frustrated because we’re late and we’re trying to move. We’re trying to do things. And then you’re going to end up getting really frustrated and you’re going to get really sad. Can we just turn this around and try to work together to get to what we have to do? Well, that didn’t happen. And it ended up happening that she was in tears. I was frustrated. And we got – when we were in the car, we just kind of took a moment. We both kind of collected ourselves, honestly. And then we – I just kind of talked to her about it.

[6:08] I just said, hey, this is kind of what I saw happening. Can we realize that when we’re going down this path, we have to go to school. We just can’t not do this. So, like, that’s not really an option. Can we kind of work together? I don’t know if she got any of that. But the point of all I was trying to just say is that I knew then that she needed to be held and be comforted in that way. And so, I carried her into the school and she just kind of snuggled up on me. And after, you know, just the short walk, you know, after we got that cuddling whatever done, she kind of was just her normal self. And she kind of was able to reset. Like, it took a little bit of time alone to kind of suck her thumb and get comforted.

[6:53] And then that together was important. And meanwhile, the youngest was just kind of trudging along by himself without a care in the world. Oh, and he was doing vocal exercises, too, on the way in. That was funny. I spent the morning showing the kids some vocal exercises and doing scales, which they found very amusing today. But I got a feeling that that’s not going to, you know, be amusing if I do it every morning.

[7:22] Yeah. So, that’s kind of the theme I wanted to talk about a little bit. It’s important to think about what the other person wants. And that’s hard. It’s not easy to always be able to be in that mind space. Yeah. Well, yesterday at dinner, I forget which child it was. But one of them said, for the first time, I think, oh, they’re your favorite. Oh, I did hear that. I hadn’t heard that. And I was actually surprised it took this long for that comment to come out. Because we were talking a little bit about equity is not equality and how just different people need different things. And not everybody always gets the exact same thing. And so, yeah, it’s a tough balance. I was also called the worst human being in our family last night by one of the kids.

[8:19] Same one that needed the cuddles. So, she must have just been going through something. Well, they always get jealous, too, because our other daughter was home sick for a couple days. So, I think that sometimes comes out in this behavior if they’re jealous. But I said, you know, why don’t you tell her that, you know, dad can come in and finish bedtime. And I’m sure she’d be like, no, no, no. You stay. You stay, please. Because that is always the default. Mom is better than dad. But what can I do? I don’t know. It’s tough. It’s hard, too, to remember how each person receives love, too. Because everybody is different. There’s five of us in our family. And then we have an anxious dog. And so, like, taking care of everybody and making sure everybody feels loved and valued is – it just takes some extra work.

[9:12] You’ve got to be on your game. It’s a full-time job. You’ve always got to be on. And you can’t just take care of your kids. You’ve got to take care of your spouse, too. And your dog. And your dog. Give him his Prozac or whatever he takes.

[9:27] Anyway, we have a really great guest here. Chris is currently out of Florida but has had a big career of training agents, being an agent, training agents, being now a coach for agents and other business owners. Chris was a lot of fun to talk to. He was an authentic, genuine person. And I am afraid to say his last name. But I do say it correctly as soon as the real interview with him comes on. So, I’m just going to say, Chris, enjoy this conversation with Chris.

[10:04] Welcome back to the REI agent. We are here with Chris Abazes. Chris, thanks so much for joining us. I got it right. You did great being here. Thanks, Matias. Matias. Hey, hey, hey. We both got names right. Let’s go. This is also a good start. That’s right. Chris, your career has evolved over the years. But tell us a little bit. Let’s get started with kind of the origin story. How did you get into real estate? I was going to school in Manhattan from Long Island. And they shut down our student housing. We had to move to Queens. And I was always interested in real estate as an investment vehicle. I never kind of fancied myself a salesperson. But I understood it as an investment. And we moved to Queens and hired a real estate agent.

[10:47] And I think I paid him $3,000 to find us a place. He showed us two places in one building. At the same time, I was put on academic probation with college. So I said, maybe I’ll get my real estate license until I figure out what I want to be when I grow up. So right around 9-11 happened. Oh, wow. So it was like, I mean, Mark was kind of going crazy. I got licensed. And I was really good at it. I was a rookie of the year, working mostly with buyers. The interest rates were so low at the time at 7%. I don’t know if you remember if you were in it. But there was a big buying frenzy. Everyone could get a loan. It was the rise of that subprime market. Then my third year, I learned how to list. That was kind of my first six-figure year.

[11:26] And I was 24. And all my friends were graduating from college with a master’s in business and not able to find jobs and stuff. So I said, I guess I’m going to do this when I grow up. I guess this is what I’m doing. And I bought my first house. Then I got into leadership in 2009, out of sales and into leadership. The opportunity presented itself in 2007, but I didn’t take it. Like most kind of people having real estate businesses don’t want to get into that world. But in 2009, in the down market, I did it. And my job was to kind of recruit, develop, and train and fill up a 6,000-square-foot office. And I did it. And over the next six years, I had recruited over 1,000 agents, recruited, trained, and coached them.

[12:08] And I launched the other two offices. So I had ownership in three different offices. And I just fell in love with people development, helping agents build their businesses, have better lives. I started my company, DreamKey Consulting, to do that. I was doing it on the side. I started to speak and coach agents. And then I kind of got out of office leadership and just started doing that full-time. And here I am. I created a job for myself, I guess. So I just kind of travel around, get to talk to people, have high-level conversations all day. And that’s how I built my business. And also, you know, getting into real estate investing and things like that. Kind of got my hand in a lot of stuff. So that’s pretty much a short story of how I ended up where I am.

[12:50] Yeah, that is a great synopsis. You flowed right through that. I have that conversation a lot. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, I bet you do. I was also curious, too, if you go back to where you were talking about, you know, you were in college on academic probation and got your real estate license. Can you walk us through, too, what was happening on the life side of things as you moved through the career progression that you just mentioned? It was interesting. You know, like I never really – I love to learn stuff, but I’m not – I wasn’t much of a student. So it’s funny how in my adult life when we started to want to learn things. And in college, I was taking – I always said I was an intro class major.

[13:29] I took everything from political science to anthropology, psychology, sociology, film, and media, and I was really kind of attracted to all these things. I’m like, what the heck am I going to do with all this? I didn’t know until later that it was going to kind of be super helpful for me to have all these things now in my life. But it was – I never – I was always kind of never one – I was in punk rock bands when I was a kid, and I had lyrics that said I’d rather die than wear a suit and tie. And here I was in my early 20s with a suit and tie on looking in the mirror laughing at myself. Man, what are you doing, you know? But my socks didn’t match, so I was still punk rock. You know, and that’s – and it was kind of interesting.

[14:09] I really fell in love with helping people. And I kind of was like, oh, salespeople, salespeople. But I kind of approached it in a way of, man, I’m helping people that thought they could never own a house own a house. And at the time, nobody wanted to work with first-time homebuyers, and I really loved working with them. They were like me, and it was fun. Then kind of getting into listings, it was like, oh, all the listing agents are the same. And then I was a little bit more lighthearted. I was professional. I was an expert. I knew what I was doing. I had all the – you checked all the boxes for a top agent. But I was nice to people, and I wasn’t pushy. And, you know, I talked to people like they were humans, which ended up helping me when I had my office to recruit agents.

[14:46] Thank goodness. I was nice to everybody, right? And so – and that’s – I mean, personally, it was just kind of feeling my way around a dark room. And I think kind of – it wasn’t until I got into learning stuff and reading books and leadership training that I started being, like, more on purpose about planning my life and designing that the way I wanted it. And otherwise, it was just kind of happening to me. And I was just always like, well, I guess this is what I’m going to do. And you have to be, I think, learning early in life. And I try to teach my kids this. You know, every time you’re saying yes to something, you’re saying no to something else. And you’ve got to be careful. If you don’t have a plan, somebody else might plan your life for you.

[15:23] You might not like where you end up. I don’t know if you guys experienced this, but when I was in college and, like, when I was young, kind of seeing all these people older than me that were in jobs that they hated, in relationships that they didn’t enjoy, that they no longer enjoyed. And they were like, whose life am I living? What am I doing? So I just didn’t want to kind of follow that path. And then I wanted to share that same experience with all the other business owners I came in contact with, the real estate agents and everybody. Listen, you don’t have to be forced to live this life you don’t want. I identify with so much of what you just said. I was also into punk music in high school, played some music as well.

[16:05] And I’ve often said, like, man, my high school self would be so ashamed of me. I mean, I’m not where I see it right now. But, you know, it’s kind of that, like, independent spirit, I think, that is probably what drew us both to real estate. And I think it’s like, you know, being your own boss. And so in some ways, you know, we’re not, we’re kind of the man where, you know, the man that we were trying to stick it to is kind of who we became. But at the same time, we’re also, like, you know, free to kind of pursue what we want. And that’s probably ultimately at least what I was pursuing or what, how that energy got channeled into something productive, like, you know, being in real estate. Yeah.

[16:42] You know, it’s, I think we’re, now we’re disrupting it from internally, right? Because you kind of get there and you’re like, the world needs people like us in this world, you know? And I think that’s, and that’s who runs the world. I think when you get older, you realize it’s like, we’re kind of, we come from this education system where we’re just kind of passive followers. And we’re sitting in alphabetical order and everybody learned how to do this. And if you’re not good at something, let’s give you extra help there to bring you up to being average rather than focusing on strengths and what makes us different. And I think that’s really, I think that’s when people figure what, figure that out and find a world where they can, you know, be authentic and live in that with freedom and, you know, freedom of personal expression and all that stuff.

[17:24] It’s, it’s, that’s when life is really delicious, right? Absolutely. Here we are. That reminds me just this week, Matthias went to some kind of a meeting. You have to tell me which one this was, but you had to give a speech impromptu. And you were saying, you know, everybody else was in blazers, but I was dressed kind of like I normally dress just in your, in your business casual. Yeah. But you liked that. You ended up saying, you know, I’m, I was glad that I was able to just like speak and say what I wanted to say. And I could wear what I normally wear and I didn’t have to put on a front. That’s awesome. Yeah. I feel like not having to necessarily like, like looking good, like, like, like, you know, not being a slob necessarily, but having your own kind of flavor to what you’re wearing, what you’re, what you’re doing and kind of who you are being true to it.

[18:14] And then, you know, backing up that, you know, you belong here by, you know, you, you get to get up and give a little speech because you, you’re the president of the association that was hosting a, an event. And so that’s where that all came from. But yeah, at first it was kind of like, well, I’m, I’m definitely underdressed when I looked around the room. You know what? I don’t want to be that person in a blazer that is just, you know, kind of matching what everybody else is doing. Yeah. That’s, you know, and I think it’s when you get to a certain level and it’s when you’re like that disruptor, people start to look to you. And that’s when you’re setting trends. And then the next meeting you go to, somebody is going to be wearing a t-shirt with a blazer or something, you know?

[18:53] So it’s, yeah, it’s, it’s funny. I mean, you know, so I mean, I’ll wear this very shirt at a speaking engage. That’s my thing. I would say it’s, it’s in my bio on my slides. I’m like, I wear t-shirts with suits, you know? So I’ll wear jeans with a t-shirt that says something funnier with it and the jacket. And it’s, and you know, people dig it, but there was a time in my career when I was really young, I mean, 21 years old. And I wore a suit, I wore a suit and tie and I started getting custom suits and cufflinks. And I looked, you know, I looked the part, man, but it was when you got into a conversation with me, that’s where the difference, difference maker was. But then looking at, I mean, Steve Jobs, nobody ever says, Hey, that guy wears a black t-shirt everywhere he goes.

[19:30] He’s Steve Jobs, you know? Right. He doesn’t need to roll up with his Armani suit, does he? No, no, absolutely not. That’s true. And I think that’s, that’s also true for me. When I started real estate, I definitely dressed the nines. And, you know, I was, I was like 24, 25. I forget exactly how old I was. But yeah, when I, when I started, I was young, not as young as you, but you know, you have to kind of feel like you gotta, you gotta show up and feel like you could be worth the thousands of dollars you’re going to get paid to help this person in the biggest transaction of their lives. So yeah, I definitely went through that phase too. That’s what it is. So Chris, I found some, your, your list of discernment questions that you often use to make a decision.

[20:14] And then, and I was looking through those and it was a post that you had made recently and you were talking about giving it to your daughter too and helping her work through some decisions maybe about college or as she goes into college. And I was just curious how often you pull out that list just on the day to day. You know, these kind of, it’s funny because these are questions. This was like some things you just do by accident. And once in a while it was when you have to, when you have to tell somebody else about it or teach it, that’s the first time that you kind of get them on paper. So this is something that I was talking to one of my clients and I, you know, I, I just was like, Hey, here’s what, here’s how I make decisions.

[20:52] Here’s my filtering questions. And we went through it and he’s like, wow, that’s really good stuff. You should write this stuff down. He’s a playwright. So very different industries. And so then I, I just wrote them down. And when I wrote them down, I shared them with my, I was, I was talking to my daughter. She just started college in Orlando. And, um, I, you know, I shared, I was like, Hey, these, this is very helpful for someone today. And I think they’d be helpful for you. And it just kept popping up after I did it. So it’s kind of like what you focus on expands. Uh, but how often am I doing that? I’m using a version of one of those correct questions, probably on a daily basis. And even if you don’t pay attention to them, these are kind of just things that are always running in my subconscious filtering in the background.

[21:34] You know, like, is this, is this in alignment with who I am and what I’m doing? Am I, am I contributing to the world? I mean, even something so small as to make a social media post, you know, in a world where, uh, attention is kind of the new, is the new drug of choice. Everyone’s screaming, look at me and look at what I’m doing. But particularly that’s what I like about you guys, as you guys are putting stuff out there, that’s valuable to the people that are watching it. Not just kind of screaming, look at me, which is rare. I guess we could say it’s like a, the minority. And that’s even with that stuff, is this how Mike, you know, is this who I am? Am I contributing? Am I making a difference?

[22:08] And, uh, that’s just always running in the background. So how often am I pulling out the list of list of those six questions and using all of them? Um, it’s probably rare, but in some version of them all the time, it’s just constantly how I, how I approach things. I, I printed them out cause I’d like to use them with my conversations with clients in session too. Cause even, uh, recently like a big conversation has been holiday stress and the pressure of feeling joyful during the holidays when really there is a lot of pressure to attend all these social events and go to the school stuff and bring everybody food. And then there’s also a lot of grief usually around the holidays. And so a lot of our conversations have focused on are the decisions you’re making and the things you’re saying yes to this season.

[22:54] Are they aligned with your values and what’s important to your family and what’s going to bring you the most joy and quality time together? And so your questions are perfect. So I might borrow those. That’s okay with you. Of course I put them out there. They’re available to everybody. That’s a, that’s what I do. So yeah, I’m glad you’re, you got value from them. So that just, that makes it worth it. Putting it out there just to, um, if you, if you get value from it yourself and share with your clients, it’s awesome. Yeah. Yeah. Very great. Yeah. So I hear about the holidays and people that are stressed out about it, right? It’s like, you know, you run into those people that, huh, they had, they had all this stuff.

[23:29] They make it. So, um, that’s a terrible thing. You know, it should be, it should be filled with joy, but that’s a personal decision, I guess too. Right? Yeah. Yeah. I know. I know. It’s, it’s tough to figure out what it is that actually helps you feel joy. Cause there’s things that I think the world around us creates that say it’s going to create joy and then people do them and they’re like, well, now I just feel stressed. Yeah. Got to figure it out. Yep. Consumerism. Yeah. One of the things you said there, um, about making content, doing things that, uh, are valuable to the audience as opposed to just look at me. Um, I think I see a lot of agents doing, uh, you know, the look at me kind of posts all the time and that’s really all they know how to do.

[24:15] Um, what would, do you have any suggestions for people that are looking to make content that, uh, I mean, I think that is definitely a area that can be hard. And I think it is usually the go-to like, you know, under contract, just sold, uh, pictures of your clients, uh, you know, at the closing table, which they probably don’t want to have that picture taken. Yeah. Well, you know, it’s, um, I would say that’s a low hanging fruit and it’s, it’s really easy to do that stuff. And there’s so much training out there and I’m not a social media person. So, but I, it’s a, I mean, I, I do it, but it’s not something I could focus more on it. But I think my advice, I just, um, I was just on the road. I was, where was I?

[24:52] I was in Chicago, uh, taught, uh, get niche or die trying. What I talk about niching down, actually making your world bigger by really figuring out who your client is, who are you serving? And, um, it’s like, we have, uh, like, um, like Sarasota Sandy on the West coast of Florida. She’s real clear on who her clients are. She’s like sea level executives from the Northeast. They buy in these four different communities. They like red wine. They like golf. They like boating and yachting. So she blogs and she puts videos out there that are super specific to that clientele. And that happened for her by accident. Now, if that’s not going to happen for an agent by accident, um, I have an exercise and I could share like a, I could share like a worksheet, like I’m on identifying your niche.

[25:28] And it starts with first who you are, what it’s, what’s unique about me. What am I, what am I uniquely able to bring out to the world? And what am I in a great position to be able to teach someone else? How to do in what I’m doing. And it’s like, um, starting from there, starting from that place, you’ll figure out who you are, what I’m offering, being real clear about that. And you’ll start attracting the people that are meant to work with you. And, uh, we’re in an experience economy. Now it’s like, it used to be, it was, you know, there was goods and then services when you’re competing with goods and raw materials. It’s just, who’s the cheapest, right? Supply and demand, getting it out there to market.

[26:02] Now we’re in services. It’s like, okay, we’re customizing a good that now becomes a service. Many people in the real estate industry will say we’re in the service industry, but now there’s a higher level, you know, and even after quarantine happened, we’re seeing all these retail stores go under all these things happen. What’s opening up experiential places, comedy clubs, X-roaring places, restaurants, like, you know, things to go out there and do. It’s an, it’s an experienced economy and people will pay. We’ll want to work with you because the experiences you provide above anything else. And so that’s where I’m trying to arrive at with the people that I work with is what experience are you creating for people?

[26:37] I mean, it’s, you could stay at the holiday inn or you could stay at the Ritz Carlton. It’s a different experience. And people that are paying to Ritz Carlton are what they’re paying for. And what they’re loyal to is that experience. So that’s, um, I mean, that’s what I would tell people really figure that out and then, and then put content out that’s relevant to them. I mean, look, I’m glad you’re doing an open house in San Diego, but that’s not relevant to me at all. I mean, it’s cool to see it and stuff, but I think a lot of agents are just in this kind of cycle of, I won this award. I have this listing. I have this open house and, uh, I mean, make it fun. So, uh, I’m, I’m late hearted. I like, I mean, I like humor and comedy.

[27:11] So, I mean, I’ll, I’ll put things out there that are, that are funny and silly. And some people think I’m ridiculous and that’s okay, but that’s not the person I’m meant to work with. And look, if, if you’re, if you’re, look, if you’re all about the numbers and the data and you’re really good at that, put that stuff out there and you’re going to attract the people that appreciate that. If you’re not good at it, don’t try to do the stuff you’re not good at. And just, uh, just go out there, be yourself, figure out who your client is and then make stuff that’s going to edify them directly. You know, that’s, uh, the biggest thing I think most business people are missing. Yeah. No, I love that. It’s, it’s really, it, again, if you keep it in mind, focusing on, on who you are serving, focus on what they want, focus on what gives them value.

[27:50] Um, and what you’re talking about is really more clearly defining who that is. Exactly. Makes a ton of sense. And, and, uh, again, I don’t think that people actually care that you got a house under contract. Um, and you know, they’re the person, whoever you’re targeting, unless, you know, I mean, I don’t really know who, what, what demographic of people actually appreciate that or really care. And, you know, it’s other agents, other agents that you’re flossing for other agents. You’re saying, look what I’m doing. They’re like, uh, Matthias is busy again. You know, they don’t even like it. They’re just, you know, they’re the comedian, Tom Papa. He said, social media is just everybody showing you how great their life is through a filter to make you feel crappy about yours, but they’re not showing you.

[28:30] They’re saying, look at us by the Eiffel tower. They’re not showing you when like, you know, dad had some bad food and he was on the, on the toilet bowl for a couple of days. I’m not showing you that, but, um, it’s like, that’s what it is. And I see people actually going through when I’m in groups of people and I see them looking at people’s social media and they’re like, uh, look at this one, look at that one. And I’m like, why these are friends of yours. Why are you, why are you so angry at them? Because they’re on vacation.

[28:57] Oh, she got another listing again. Uh, why are you so, why don’t you go get some listings? Why are you mad? Just be happy for people. Yeah. Totally. And I mean, yeah, that’s a good example of something that people do want is would be listings. I mean, so you can list, say just listed because you are a marketing your property that you were trying to sell and be your people that on your social media are probably curious about new houses and want to check them out. So I mean, that’s exactly. I mean, my strategy for new listings, I love for a new listing instead of throwing a post out there, do a paid ad, choose your target market, expose it to only people looking in the area of that demographic, do something fun, do a fun video around it with a lead capture mechanism, like a lead magnet, build your database and drip on them.

[29:36] You know, so that’s kind of more effective for a real estate salesperson than just throwing it out there and saying, um, come to my open house. Look what I listed. You know, look, it’s all evidence. This is a success. It’s good. It’s like a just listed postcards. I used to do those in the neighborhood. So if you can figure out how to just get it in front of people, that’ll be valuable. And there’s like on Facebook, I used to teach a class on setting up lists. People didn’t know you could set up lists with just, you know, set up. You can almost use it as like a CRM and just, I want to post this just to these people or adjust to these people or, um, there’s ways you can do it, but it’s just, um, it’s a crowded space, isn’t it?

[30:10] Um, and you really got to sip, you got to pan for gold to really find the good stuff. Yeah. I’m curious about, uh, your, when you were in the recruiting phase, um, now we’re, we’re teams a thing at this time at all, or, or. Yeah. So I’ve got that role. It’s a, with teams, I built my office with teams because, but the agents, I was really, um, there was, there was agents that hit the ceiling, good agents. They either didn’t have a team and they were ready to start hiring people, or there were small brokerages or, or agents with teams that were kind of dysfunctional. So that’s how I kind of built my company. And, um, I learned all about team structure and organizational structure and how to do this stuff and was able to help agents grow their teams into businesses.

[30:53] And that was kind of my, my bread and butter for recruiting, which then actually became my, a majority of my coaching clients in real estate. But, uh, yeah, teams were, uh, just starting to be a thing, you know, and I was with, uh, KW offices. So those KW offices were really, uh, you know, kind of pushing team stuff. I’d come from a Remax, um, and Remax, you know, they, they fostered teams too, but they kind of didn’t have this stuff. Um, you know, like they were just kind of like, Hey, go build teams. But they didn’t teach you how to do it really at the time. And, um, so that was kind of a, a big thing in the market that was a super valuable as far as, uh, education is concerned. Cause what do you tell it?

[31:34] What do you tell a top agent that knows everything? I know everything, you know, it’s like, you can’t, so I don’t need to make any more money or do any more business, but you work in 70 hours a week. You want to do it in 30. We’ve got a way for you to do that. And that was, um, that was a big thing for me. Cause it’s just kind of, uh, I would say I’m a leverage coach system tools and people just let’s figure out how to do it, which like you guys have figured out now you said, we’re getting to the point. We just got to show up. We look at our calendar, we show up and record and that’s awesome. Yeah. It’s a big deal. You know? And I think people are just trying to do too much, especially that entrepreneurial spirit.

[32:04] You think nobody can do it like you can do it. Yes. We know is not true. Yeah. There’s multiple angles there. I think that there are definitely the people that cannot let go of the control, um, of having to do everything themselves. And then there’s just also the fear, um, of, you know, hiring somebody. I’m gonna have to pay them. Things get slow sometimes, you know, there’s, you know, it’s, there’s a lot of different. It’s a big deal. A lot of responsibility. There’s also a lot of opportunity for you to help someone, you know, uh, change it. Like, uh, somebody once told me that if, um, I was, if I was capable of building an empire, I had a social responsibility to do it because I can create opportunities for other people.

[32:42] And I think we’ve all met that Uber driver or that Starbucks barista that had a great idea that, um, we’re like, man, I, uh, you’ve got to, you know, you’d be a great salesperson. You’ve got a great idea for a new technology or something. And, uh, there’s so much out there that we’ll never hear about so much, so many inventions, so many great music, so much art, right. We’ll never hear about it because people just never go for it. And so there’s that thing too, with, you know, it’s, I mean, I had agents like, Hey, what was your goal? And they’re like, Oh, someday I want to own a restaurant. Oh, awesome. I’m going to help you have the best real estate business possible. And my goal is to get you to be able to be a restaurant owner because that’s your dream.

[33:20] And maybe we’ll invest in it together. And, uh, that was kind of counterintuitive for most people in the recruiting game that didn’t want people to leave them. I wanted people to, I wanted to be the vehicle that helped people build their dream. And it, um, it worked out for me in the long run. Um, so I even had staff members that I gave to agent teams, you know, like a receptionist that had a growth opportunity with an agent’s team to be there, to be their COO or their admin. And, uh, you know, one particular, I’m thinking she’s still there. And I mean, every year she sends me, she sends me like a card and the gift and thanks. Oh, thank you for changing my life. And I’m like, well, that’s cool.

[33:53] That’s why we do it. You know, that’s why we do it, you know, but a lot of people around me were, uh, you know, Oh, you should be a little, a little bit more greedy, a little bit more shrewd. Only if you were this, only with that. And I’m like, no, I’m kind of okay with just doing things the way that I am. And, um, like I have a low economic drive. So, but the economics come with everything else. So, um, now it’s the proof is in the pudding. You know, cause I always said, it’s like, I sleep well at night. I love what I do and everything’s good. Yeah. It’s, it’s so nice to have a cheerleader like you. Cause it can, it feels scary to step away from like a W2 with benefits. It is, and, and it’s, that can feel hard to do on your own.

[34:32] But if you have somebody behind you encouraging you to do that, man, that would make such a difference. Like it was, it was tough for me to leave my W2 and start my own private practice. And, and I did it because I was drowning, um, trying to do a full-time job with two kids. And, and. Well, at what point did you, did you do them both at the same time? And at what point did you kind of pull the plug on that W2? Well, it was, it was mid COVID. So it was 2020. Um, and that was part of what forced me into it. And no, I, I stopped my W2 is Monday to Friday job. Very, um, inflexible hours. Cause it was sessions with clients from nine to five and had two little kids. And it was August. I think it was in June that I was like, I just can’t do this.

[35:14] I have to do a part-time work, especially with the real estate hours being evenings and weekends mostly. Um, and so end of August, I left my job beginning of September. I started it. I started my private practice. And I remember giving myself like a couple of months to build up my caseload, but I had been working in the community long enough that it took two weeks and I was full with a wait list and have been ever since. That’s awesome. So it ended up fine, but the, the anxiety leading up to it and like, what if this doesn’t work out? What if all the questions, you know, nobody doesn’t, nobody ever that you talk to, nobody’s ever like so sure that ends up there. Everyone’s got that story where they had some concerns, some anxiety and what ifs and, you know, imposter syndrome and fear of failure and fear of success and all that stuff.

[35:58] Nobody’s exempt from it. I mean, I think that’s, people need to share those stories more often. There’s so many people out there on stages. Like, you know, uh, I’m a billionaire, a real estate investor, and you could be too. If you just buy my $400 program, you know, and it’s like, nobody talks about, um, nobody talks about the, too often the, uh, the, uh, the little bit of a battle it is. And, you know, even it’s listen, you see, you see bands and musicians up there. You see people on stage or actors and actors say, Oh, it looks so easy where they were, but you know, you weren’t living in a basement apartment, eating ramen, you’ll sticking with it, knowing that this thing’s going to work out for me.

[36:30] And I think we’ve all, all in the business world, we’ve all been there at some degree. And I mean, I’ve built, I’ve, I’ve had it big and lost everything a couple of different times. And it’s, um, you know, it’s, it’s, uh, it’s rough. You know, I’m candid about those stories and people are like, people are like, Oh, how did you get a car repossessed? How did you get, you’re a CEO of a company? How’d you get a car repossessed? How’d you get an eviction notice and stuff? And I’m like, well, uh, things happen. And then especially when you’re committed to building a business and how many times in life do we, you know, get offered some kind of easy button that we have to say no to. Um, I mean, it’s, I I’m getting recruited all the time for these leadership positions that sound real good, right?

[37:06] It’s like hitting the easy button. You get like a man, that’ll sound good, but it’ll be good for a year. And then I’ll be, and then I’ll be annoyed and I’ll be, I’ll feel unfulfilled and I’ll want to start all over again. So stay in the course and saying no to those things. You know, it’s, um, it’s, uh, it’s important. Yeah. Chris, what do you, how do you feel about, uh, agents getting started? Uh, do you think that it’s better to burn the fleet and just jump right in or like you kind of mentioned doing both, uh, for a while with Erica and that’s the approach I took. Yeah. I did, I did a full-time job and real estate for a few years before I jumped in. Uh, I mean, I was lucky. I was, um, uh, I was a DJ, uh, at the time.

[37:43] And, um, so I nights and like night weekends, I could work and, you know, make a decent amount of money, like people in the service industry, you know, like bartenders and servers and things like that. But, um, is there a way to do it? I’ve hired people that have worked really well. I mean, I’ve hired everybody from police officers about to retire to school teachers and said, Hey, I want to do real estate part-time. So, uh, creating a goal around that I think is important. So if you say, okay, well, I want to have my full-time job. Okay. Well, do you have, would you like to go full-time in real estate? Is that your goal? Yes, I would. Well, what needs to happen in order for you to go full-time?

[38:18] Um, and it’s some people, it’s like, if I can have $10,000 in the bank, or if I do one transaction, or if I do 10 transactions, they’ll have some kind of target that’s hittable. And now you can reverse engineer that and figure that out. Well, how much time can you dedicate to real estate? What’s your business going to look like? And what’s the fastest way to get you to those transactions? And it’s different for everybody. And some people do it real well, well, and transition out. Um, some people I’ve known stay with a part-time business and do two transactions a year forever. And some people pull the plug and jump right in. Um, one kid I hired, he worked for the cable company and he made about $110,000 a year.

[38:55] And, um, he was a Chinese immigrant. And he said, he’s called me chief. He’s like, chief, do you think I can make $100,000 this year on real estate in my first year? And I said, Michael, you can do it. Uh, my rookie of the year usually does about 60 or 70, and then they’ll do a hundred their second year. And he’s like, what do I need to do? Um, he’s like, I’m quitting my job. He’s like, I’m going to do exactly what you need to do. And I was, we started off. Well, you talk to 10 people a day. You’ll, that’s a good start. And he’s like, what if I talked to 20? And he started to take listings and, um, he’s, I said, listings is the name of the game. And, uh, I would always put them in the office meeting and say, Michael, tell everyone how you got this listing.

[39:29] He’d be like, well, I was so lucky. There was a big snowstorm and I couldn’t get in contact with this Fizbo. So I figured I would go to the house and they would be home. And I’m like, wait a second. You were lucky, but you went to the house during a snowstorm. That’s not lucky. If you were in the snow, if you were watching Netflix, eating popcorn and your couch and they knocked on your door by accident and gave you a listing, that’s lucky. But he was always doing the things. And I think people that stay in the activities, um, yeah, have the success. And I, there’s, I think part of that kind of moving towards pleasure and away from pain. When you, when you create pain in your life, usually actions we take now is to avoid some kind of future pain.

[40:02] I mean, sometimes you see that rock bottom and someone springs into action, but in coaching, we try to tap you into the possibility of a future pain. Cause you got money saved up. You’re making money now you can relax. But what if that goes away and what do you need to do now in order for that to happen? And we know real estate’s very cyclical. And, uh, but I mean, I think I like it when I see someone committed to joining. I think nowadays we’re seeing more and more kids come out of college that are choosing it as an actual career choice, um, a viable career choice where I think when I got into it, it was like, you know, people are like, well, if I can’t get a regular job, so I might as well sell real estate.

[40:35] I drive a yellow cab and I sell real estate on the side. It’s, but it, it’s, um, I think, I think if it was like a regular business where you had to take out a loan, like, so if it costs $50,000 to get into real estate and you had to do a business plan and go to a bank and get a loan and you had to take that money, invest in some coaching and training and invest in some lead generation activities. And then you just did the activities. I think everybody would be good. It’s a, it’s a good business. But I think because it’s so much flexibility, some people just don’t show up. They don’t, they don’t do the activities that they need to do. And it’s, um, it sounds simple. If I find a person that needs a house and the person that has a house and I put them together, yay, I make 10 grand, whatever it is, you know, but it’s, uh, when you get in there, there’s other, there’s other agents and there’s other nuances.

[41:22] And it’s, um, it’s not as easy and every other person has a real estate license. And, uh, it’s just, I think it’s, um, whatever someone, everyone’s different. And, uh, some people, I know people that didn’t hire part-time agents. Yeah. And I said, I’m, I said, I’m going to hire them. However, um, it’s, you know, it’s going to kind of be with that caveat, you know, just, uh, you’ve got to do some stuff, but there’s a plan for everybody. If you’ve got 10 hours a week to dedicate to it, you can do it. You can build a business. Yeah. Yeah. I think, I think that was, uh, the clear thing. It’s like, if you have that safety net of, uh, your full-time job, you can always fall back on. If you’re, if you’re holding it for that purpose.

[42:00] Yeah. I think that’s a very different thing than if you are, um, simply, you know, a means to an end. Cause I, you know, when I was going for this career, I, I, I wanted to, that was all I wanted as I wanted to get into, you know, be a full-time agent. Uh, we were paying off student loans. Um, that was kind of the reason for getting a side hustle at first that I wanted to make a good career, uh, but also a reason not to just quit the job, um, right away. But yeah, I mean, I was up every morning at five. I went to, I worked at a high school and got done at like two 33. Um, so I was able to do afternoon showings and weekends and summers. Uh, so it worked really well for me overall, uh, at that initial phase.

[42:41] But then as you want to, or you just got into it yourself, I got into myself. Um, I had a little bit of, um, kind of a top agent that, that nurtured me, um, more so later on when I, when I really, uh, kind of got into it more full-time. Um, but yeah, so it was, it was just me and myself, but a good, a good company that really, you know, trained well and was supportive. Yeah, that’s important. That’s good. You got it. And you, and look at you now, you’re doing it and you guys invest now you’re in, you invest as well. And, you know, so you give some like investor tips and stuff, which is good because people don’t know, people don’t know these things in general public. Yeah. I do feel like you have to be like very self-motivated.

[43:22] Yeah. Um, especially in the real estate business because it’s so individualized in some ways. Uh, and you have to keep pushing yourself and doing new things and doing things differently. And I think just as humans, we, we tend to like to be comfortable and we don’t, we don’t love pain or discomfort, but growth also can’t happen when you’re comfortable. And so it does take a willingness to, to keep pushing yourself into places that don’t feel great at first, knowing that it’s going to feel good at some point. But you know, it’s interesting, you know, Jim Rohn says that, uh, content and ambition are kind of opposed and that people that are content are rarely ambitious. So people are rarely content, but if we can figure out a way to experience both of those things at the same time, that’s kind of the sweet spot of life.

[44:02] So I’ve dedicated my life to that. How can I both, how can I be really happy with where I am and really excited about where I’m going enough so that, you know, I’m appreciating the moment being present, but also kind of looking to stretch. And I think life’s been a series of counterbalances and sometimes you’re super content and complacent and just kind of like, Hey, I’m good with where I am. And sometimes you’re just in growth mode. And, um, okay. Just to kind of lean into that, lean into those nuances. Cause people make themselves feel bad about things. Oh man, it’s the middle of the afternoon and I’m playing golf or I’m, you know, watching TV or I’m out in a boat drinking margaritas. And I should be, they should all over themselves.

[44:36] Right. Or, you know, or people are working from eight in the morning to nine at night. And they’re saying, man, I should, I shouldn’t be doing this. I’m missing my kids games and I’m not having dinner with my family and all that stuff. And people are just so rough on themselves rather than leaning in and understanding that life is a series of counterbalances looking we’re in business for ourselves. So we have the ability to do that, you know? Yeah, totally. Just got to watch it. Got to pay attention. I think that’s, yeah, I think that’s probably a more accurate thing is life balance isn’t necessarily always balanced at all times. It’s kind of keeping track of what you want out of life and how you can kind of achieve that, you know, balance, whether it might be, yeah, you might have to lean into the work a little bit harder.

[45:14] And I certainly, at the beginning of real estate, you’re really going to be in the grind phase when you’re getting things rolling. Was that ever a part of your training? Was that ever, is that part of your coaching? The life balance that, you know, like making sure you’re not, you know, the high divorce rate, the, you know, the missing kids sporting events like you just mentioned. Is that ever part of that conversation? Yeah. I mean, it’s, I mean, it’s something I’m learning constantly. And one of the biggest things people struggle with in all industries, even, even people that are not business related is kind of that time management thing is something that always pops up and kind of being, you know, what are some strategies?

[45:51] What are some actual, actual strategies on how to manage time better and kind of what are the grass where it needs it and, and some techniques around that. And then also the emotional element of kind of just being okay with, you know, giving yourself permission to, to, to be okay with what, what’s good, what’s happening, what’s actually happening and understanding that what you do have control over and what you don’t. And I mean, one of the, one of the first things I do with people is I separate them into two aspects and say, okay, well, you know, here’s you, the business, here’s you, the personal, tell me about your business. What are the things that drive your business and are you passing or failing in the things that drive your business?

[46:30] And what are you doing in your business that you don’t want to do anymore? And let’s get leverage there and all that kind of stuff. And then it’s funny because when you get into the personal conversation, tell me about your family, your spouse or your significant other, your kids, what do you like doing? How about your friends? And how does, when you get into each thing, how does, how does this kid know that you love them? How does this one know that you love them? How does this one, you think about specific things and are you hitting that button and is it meaningful for them? And sometimes it’s the first time people actually sit down and say, man, I never thought of that before. I never thought about that.

[47:01] Just if I go out there and kick a soccer ball around my kid, that they’re going to, it’s going to be the best day of their life that they ever had. And just paying attention to those things in each of our business, because we can get so lost and kind of cluttered with all the stuff, the whirlwind and distracted. And we’re just kind of, you know, a lot of people are like, like my girlfriend, she used to be like, she used to be kind of like anti-coaching. She’s like, everyone’s a coach now. Everyone’s trying to help everybody else. Dude, like all the people that I know are life coach have screwed up lives. And I’m like, well, they probably got their stuff together. Now they want to share it with people.

[47:33] But then after seeing what she does and I brought her to stuff, she’s like, man, I see how this works. And a lot of it’s just kind of getting you to focus on that stuff. Just your, your blind spots and you know, what you’re you know, just help me think in a different direction. But it’s, that’s kind of woven in, in the ongoing relationship that’s kind of woven into it. And I think that’s what keeps people around more than strategy or all the other stuff. You know, look, look, you can, you know, you can talk about strategies and, you know, executing and all that stuff. But a lot of it’s just kind of, you know, hitting the reset button, refocusing and, you know, okay, yeah, that’s right. I am on the right path.

[48:08] I am. And I’m enjoying the journey along the way and helping you enjoy it when you’re going through that stretch and that pain. It’s a, it’s a, I think it’s an important thing. And we, I think we all need in our lives. Mm-hmm. I love that life coaches are out there too, because I, those are questions that most people probably don’t have asked of them in their normal conversations. And so love, love that that’s a part of it too. I wanted to know, um, what is it that’s feeling fulfilling for you right now and what you’re doing? Um, you know, it’s, I am, I really, I work with, I would say small business owners, you know, um, much of them doing under a million in revenue. Uh, and there was not really a lot of people for those people.

[48:56] And I realized that, and everybody wants to work with the, you know, like I got friends, like work with the super rich people and make a, make a ton of money. You know, they’ll pay you, you know, four times as much for the same thing. But, um, I really, I’m really appreciating just helping a restaurant owner build a database or a personal injury attorney put together a marketing plan and an image and stuff like that. It’s like, it’s, it’s fun to work with these different kinds of businesses where they had no clue, right? Because real estate, we’ve got a lot of resources at our disposal. I mean, we can go and sign up for 50 different CRMs for less than a hundred bucks a month. And we can have all this stuff available to us and all this training and all these things because we’re such a big industry.

[49:34] But then, you know, the small mom and pop doesn’t have a lot of that stuff. And that’s been real rewarding for me. And I love getting, I mean, being back into live speaking engagements. I mean, I love zoom stuff. It’s fine. You know, learning in your underwear, I call it, but getting out there like September, I was in a, I had three conventions in September. It was just, it was a great, you know, I was in, I was in Illinois and Wisconsin and Michigan. And I love being up there when it’s warm. It’s good. I don’t want to go in there winter, but getting out there live again on the road. It’s a, it’s so good. And when you, when somebody, you know, when somebody tells you, it’s like, Hey, they send you a message or they wait for you afterwards and they tell you, you really said this thing, man, it’s come to, um, it changed the way I think about stuff.

[50:12] And, um, when you hear about something that makes a difference and that’s really, that’s really super rewarding for me. And, um, it’s, uh, you know, just being able to make an impact impact in that way. And, uh, I, I like it, you know, I like working with the big guys, but I like working with the little guys. It’s almost more, you know, more rewarding than somebody, um, you know, you help somebody that’s a little kind of, you know, kick into the next stage. I love that. The, I remember reading about positive psychology and one of the ways to get a really good, uh, rush of like, you know, positive feeling, positive emotion, uh, would be to go to that person that was fundamental to you, uh, that changed your life and, you know, just maybe write them a letter and read it to them in person if you can.

[50:55] Um, and I, I would imagine that would also then change that person’s day, that person’s person’s ear. Cause it just, that’s just such a thing that people don’t do very often. So I’m glad that you get to hear that back and I can see why that would be so rewarding for you to, to help people and really change their lives. Yeah. I mean, that’s it. It’s a, that’s a cool thing. And it’s, it’s so funny too. When somebody reaches out to you, like on social media, I don’t know if this happens to you guys, then you’re chatting with them, you’re talking back to them and, uh, and they’re like, oh, this is really you. And I’m like, yeah, no, yeah, I’m just Chris from the block. I’m not, you know, it’s a, oh yeah, I see your videos and I saw you from stage.

[51:31] And then I’m like, oh no, that’s really me. You know, I’m just really reading my stuff and getting back to my stuff. So, you know, I’m not Tony Robbins, but it’s a, you know, that’s what happens. You know, it’s just, uh, it’s kind of a cool thing, you know, just people. It’s a, I mean, look in a world of, in a world of AI chatbots, it’s nice to talk to humans sometimes. Right. It is. Yes, it is. Totally. Um, Chris, I do have to ask, I, my, my, my question that I always ask, is there a book that you found fundamental, uh, to you, uh, in, in development or one that you’re really enjoying right now? One that you think people should read? Yep. There, I mean, there’s so many. Um, I mean, I would say like the seven habits, highly effective people, kind of like the Bible of life and business.

[52:11] Um, and then there were, there were ones like the go giver and strengths finder and things like that all through the years, the dream, the dream manager. But right now I, I just, um, I was reading a book called the gap in the game and I think it’s probably a lesser known one. And I think it’s really pertinent to kind of where we’re at now, the gap in the game. It’s like kind of focusing. Cause we’re, we come from a culture where we focus on the lack and the goals we didn’t hit and the things we didn’t do and don’t have rather than what we have accomplished. And, um, it’s, uh, that the whole, it’s, it’s all about a mindset around, you know, focusing on that gain instead of the, instead of the gap in the lack that we have in our life.

[52:45] And I think it’s kind of, we’re almost as a society of this explosion with social media and everybody in your face on like, uh, you know, look, we have all these influencers that are making millions of dollars from being on vacation all the time. And like, why aren’t we doing that? Right. So instead of appreciating what you do have. So I think it’s, I think I would say the gap in the game right now are, is a, is a big one. And, um, my first book will be out soon as a spontaneous AF. Uh, there’s some bad words in there, but yeah, just, uh, I did a book writing challenge in November and, uh, started writing a book and I had all this data I’ve been collecting for the past eight years. And I always, I always laugh and say, man, it only took me eight years to write a book on spontaneity.

[53:24] Um, so it’s, um, yeah, I mean, I got 106 pages or something now just talking to publishers and figuring out what I want to do there, but that’s kind of exciting. Cause that’s a non, it just ended up being like a non-business thing. It’s almost like it’s, it’s, it’s going to be applicable for everybody. And we’re going to do a blog and a podcast and the clothing line, all kinds of fun stuff. So that’d be fun. And if you guys could be part of it, it’s, um, you know, that how spontaneity kind of makes your life rich and fulfilled just by being spontaneous and kind of planning for it and leaving space for the spontaneous to occur and, you know, not being impulsive. I can be both of those things, but that’s, uh, that’s, uh, that’s really what’s given me like kind of a fruitful life and being able to say yes in the, in the moment to the correct things.

[54:06] I love it. That’s the really fun. I’ll have to look for that. Yeah. It’ll be, I’ll, I’ll get, I’ll get you guys one when it, when it comes, they have, um, it’ll be, it’ll be a good time. You know what? Come see in your Virginia when I’m up there, but let me see where I’m going to be. Let me, I can figure out where it’s going to be and then we’ll be nowhere. Yeah. Maybe we’re, maybe we’re close by. It’s a big state. Yeah. Do you guys go to, um, uh, this is going to be for the realtor. It’s going to be for the realtor organization there for leadership. Oh, okay. Um, for the state. Yeah, I think so. Yeah. No, I mean, there’s a March 6th, March 6th. Here it is. Um, that, that’s something that I’ve, I’ve considered doing, uh, going through that leadership track.

[54:47] That’s a cool thing. So you’re, did you do anything? Um, do you get involved with the realtor organization there at all? Yeah. So I’ve, I’ve just ended, uh, my, I was supposed to be done this year. I was, uh, the, the immediate past president last year. And then we had, if somebody quit, um, their, the industry that was going to be president. So instead of rushing somebody up the leadership track, I stayed on and kind of did it another year. Um, but yeah, that’s going to do an end, but which would allow me to do that leadership, uh, course. It’s a thankless job, isn’t it? So Charlottesville, this is going to be Boris Head Resort in Charlottesville, Virginia. That’s a cool place. Oh, that’s a great resort.

[55:21] That’s about 55 minutes. I’ve never been there. It’s going to be, I’m going to be in, I’m going to be in, um, St. Pete in the middle of a reggae festival. I’m going to hop on a plane to Virginia and fly back to the reggae festival. Um, it’s basically the same vibe. Yeah, man. I’ll, I’ll have, I’ll have you basically the same vibe. I’ll have some pictures for people. It’s like, I always, people always think I’m kidding when I say these things. And, uh, I’ll tell people things and they’re like, they’re like, they’re like, oh my God, you’re really, that that’s, you know, I’m like, I wasn’t kidding. You know, I wasn’t kidding. That’s what happened, you know, but it’ll be a good time. Is that by you guys?

[55:54] Charlottesville? Yeah. Yeah. It’s like the next big city beside it. It’s about a 45 minute drive. Oh, cool. Yeah. We, we go to that, that resort for Christmas, uh, where we did last year, the year before. Yeah, we did it last year. We should do it again. Lots of lots of fun lights and kind of a walk, walking. And Cheryl, you can go through. Yeah. I know Richmond was beautiful. When I went there, I did a, uh, I did a training for a group, Liz Moore and associates. Okay. They had a very nice team up there, a couple offices and they were, did it at this beautiful country club, man. And it was, um, it was really nice and had lunch for everybody and it’s just something they do for their agents. And I’m like, this is a cool thing.

[56:29] And they had a very good culture. And I like, uh, I like real estate companies, uh, that have really good culture where like the people are just, uh, just nice people and, um, everyone likes each other and everyone contributes and helps each other. And that’s, that’s across the, that’s across the board, but there’s, it doesn’t matter which company you’re at. It matters with the people that are at that company and you can have that wherever you are, you know? I a hundred percent agree. Yeah. Um, where would be a good place to reach out to you? Do you have a website? Do you have a Instagram? Where are you accessible? So I have my chrisabazas.com, which is, um, like my link tree. Um, so to speak, uh, I don’t use link tree.

[57:07] It’s, it’s in my CRM. I just built this page and it’s got my Instagram, my Facebook, my LinkedIn, my YouTube, my TikTok, what else? Uh, websites, I’m a partner in a video production company that’s there too. Um, so that, I mean, that would be the, that would be the place if anybody wants to, um, reach out, but yeah, we’ll put it in the show notes. Yeah. Yeah. And then it’s, uh, it’s, but if, um, you know, it’s funny because sometimes you’ll maybe I’ll be at that place in Virginia and somebody will say that they, oh, you’re, I saw you with Matias and Erica and they’ll be like, oh, really? That’s cool. So that’s fun. That’s happened, but I’m doing the interviewing a lot. So it’s really fun to be on this side of it.

[57:43] It’s yeah. It’s hard for me not to get into and want to ask you guys questions. So I really appreciate what you guys are doing. So it’s, um, you know, you get invited to a lot of these things and sometimes they’re not always when I go through my questions, sometimes it’s always, um, you know, this is, this is not going to be the right thing for me. So, uh, you guys are doing good things and I appreciate what you’re doing. Thanks so much, Chris. Yeah. Thank you for coming and talking with us. Yeah. My pleasure. Great conversation. Thanks for listening to the REI agent. If you enjoyed this episode, hit subscribe to catch new shows every week, visit REI agent.com for more content until next time, keep building the life you want.

[58:23] All content in the show is not investment advice or mental health therapy. It is intended for entertainment purposes only.