Bridging the Gap with Leah Slokom: Unveiling the Power of Altruism in Building a Successful Real Estate Venture
Sep 22, 2023Season 1Episode 18
Alex Haigh
Have you ever experienced the profound wisdom that often lives within the hearts and minds of children, especially those battling disabilities or illnesses? Today, we unravel this fascinating subject with real estate professional Leah Slokom, whose charitable endeavors have led her to enriching interactions with these courageous young souls. Together, we reflect on the inherent bravery these children embody, a trait deeply admired in the philosophy of stoicism. Leah brings us into her world of philanthropy, sharing her experience with Make-A-Wish and the Give Kids the World compound in Florida—a sanctuary for children in need. We ponder over adulthood's often lost sense of wonder, and how to reignite that spark.
But what does giving back have to do with real estate? You might be surprised. We navigate the landscape of circle prospecting, a powerful tool in cultivating a successful real estate venture. Leah and I share stories from the field, including the triumphs of Samantha, an agent who propelled her mission with proactive fundraising. We also explore innovative strategies to inspire action, such as utilizing messenger channels to motivate others towards their goals. Join us, and let's venture into a conversation bridging the gap between altruism and business success. You might find just the inspiration you need to take your next big leap.
Have you ever experienced the profound wisdom that often lives within the hearts and minds of children, especially those battling disabilities or illnesses? Today, we unravel this fascinating subject with real estate professional Leah Slokom, whose charitable endeavors have led her to enriching interactions with these courageous young souls. Together, we reflect on the inherent bravery these children embody, a trait deeply admired in the philosophy of stoicism. Leah brings us into her world of philanthropy, sharing her experience with Make-A-Wish and the Give Kids the World compound in Florida—a sanctuary for children in need. We ponder over adulthood's often lost sense of wonder, and how to reignite that spark.
But what does giving back have to do with real estate? You might be surprised. We navigate the landscape of circle prospecting, a powerful tool in cultivating a successful real estate venture. Leah and I share stories from the field, including the triumphs of Samantha, an agent who propelled her mission with proactive fundraising. We also explore innovative strategies to inspire action, such as utilizing messenger channels to motivate others towards their goals. Join us, and let's venture into a conversation bridging the gap between altruism and business success. You might find just the inspiration you need to take your next big leap.
Speaker 1:
All right, welcome everybody to another agent of the Stoic Asian podcast. My name is Altaig, obviously your host and I have a great guest here on. Her name is Leah Slokom, and Leah and I have a kind of a kindred spirit here in charity and we'll dig into that a little bit later on the podcast. Welcome to the podcast, and why don't you tell people a little bit about kind of who you are and what brought you here?
Speaker 2:
Well, first off, thanks for having me, alex. You know I appreciate the invite. Kind of a real estate team, I have a partner called the Peak Partner Scene and we're in upstate New York kind of Albany area. A lot of people might consider upstate to be Buffalo work, five hours from Buffalo but two and a half hours from New York City. So in our team is actually based on charitable giving and giving back into the community.
Speaker 1:
Awesome, awesome. Well, I know the Stoics love that. You know, one of my, one of my favorite Stoics is Marcus Aurelius and he was like one of the last great emperors of Rome and he really was, you know, an emperor of the people and it sounds like, you know, you have a team of the people there. So, you know, let's dig into that a little bit. You know what do you think? You know what is? Do you think that's something that kind of connects us all, like that giving back or kind of serving a higher purpose?
Speaker 2:
I think so. I mean, I know for myself and all of the agents and people on our team it gives us drive to do a little bit more. We know that we're actually working towards something that's bigger than just selling a house or making money or, you know, helping others as well. It gives us. It gives a lot of drive, and this is where we're out there.
Speaker 1:
Yeah. So what's the? What's the? I think you, I think you give to a couple of different organizations, or do you have a specific organization?
Speaker 2:
We give to quite a few. We actually have a community GiveBat Festival. We have our own 501c3. It's called the Peak Giving Tree and we're transitioning it into the Cat Bowl region giving tree actually have our whole area and it's really meant for people that it's smaller organizations that need a little lift or individuals that might need a little lift. We just had a family that had a daughter with Down syndrome actually, but she also has cancer. So we sent them a check to kind of help with some of that. You know she did not the hospital, some travel expenses, just ancillary stuff that wasn't deemed they didn't have to use it in one way or another. It's really just to kind of release some of the burden for the family. So but I personally sit on the board of Make-A-Wish. I've sat on the board for the Keemulon Cove and Society as well as our place organization that I've been from. I sit down there calling Giving Place Awesome.
Speaker 1:
You know, my dad gave a lot to make-a-wish and you know, I think about those people and one of the one of the cardinal virtues, I guess, of stoicism is courage. And you know, you see, these little kids that you know are going through brain surgery and trauma and cancer and that kind of thing Does that. Do you look at those kind of people as having maybe a little more courage than some of us adults who think that, you know, we're out there storming and taking over the world and building empires, and you think there's actually more courage in those children?
Speaker 2:
Oh, without a doubt. I mean, if you meet a kid that's kind of has cancer or going through that difficult time, look at that kid, has no problems, has more courage, looks out for the kids. It's amazing and one of the things I love about Make-A-Wish is that they give and they cover all different diseases and parts and different stuff. It's not just that they're different. I actually my niece, was the recipient of a wish. She excluded me, so I got to experience a wish, then became a board member. You know which was.
Speaker 1:
Cool. What did you guys do?
Speaker 2:
We went to Disney so she called it Mickey World and did. The whole Disney experience was quite interesting. But the place that you stay in, disney I don't know if you're familiar with Give Kids the World in Florida.
Speaker 1:
No.
Speaker 2:
It's actually its own compound. It's just for kids really that have disabilities, illnesses. Every day is different holiday, christmas or Halloween or something they have. We ride, a, stay at this little townhouse every day, drop off like yes, with the kids. So when we come back from the park they have all kinds of stuff. Pretty cool. It's all based volunteers, though.
Speaker 1:
Awesome Do you find? You know? I find a lot of I don't know if I would call it wisdom. It's almost something seemingly higher than that. Maybe the simplicity, like the simplicity in what my you know my daughter. She's pretty percocious, she actually has an incredible memory, but her vocal skills make her sound like she's not that smart. You know like, and you have to. It's kind of like a little kid where, like the other little kids know what they're saying. Or you're a mom, I think, and you know like, you can you understand what the kid's saying. But I guess what I'm asking is do you think that there is, you think that they hold, a lot of wisdom that we don't maybe listen to?
Speaker 2:
Oh, absolutely, without a doubt. I think that whether they're verbal or not, like, they see the world in a way that I think adults lose sight of. You know, we always say I'd love to let you the world. You know, the eyes of my child. I think as we get older we get so zero-minded that we miss that big wonder makes kids so much wiser.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, how do you think we lose that? Do you think we get wrapped up in being an adult? An adult is like needs to be serious, and we forget about. You know, those simplicity, that simplicity of life Is that kind of maybe.
Speaker 2:
I think, oh, I think, we gain more responsibilities, we forget to live experientially, look at kind of work and building and we're trying to keep up with the Joneses that we forget what life is all about and kind of living that, but it just comes with. And then I do believe we just start point. You start to re-grass and say, oh my gosh, we're like it's almost over, I need to start doing some crazy things.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, I think I think you're spot on there. I know, I know I've always been a pretty serious person. I used to think that Stoic was without emotion. And then I, what I found as I dug more into the philosophy, is that really it's seeing our emotion. I mean, I think that you know my daughter, she just she lives so much in the moment, she's not worried about her emotion, she's not, she just is there. You think there's something in that where, like, there's almost a wisdom in in being connected to your emotions.
Speaker 2:
Oh, absolutely. I mean, I always say, like you know, we're always worried about what other people think other people perceive us to be, that we, you know, kind of do sight of ourselves and that is one of the things you, my daughter, like, she just doesn't kind of fear, she just sees it in a different way To me. Being in touch with your emotions and being able to understand that is high level.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, I think that there's some wisdom in you know, Marcus wrote, uh, Meditations. Well, he didn't actually write the book, he was a journal to himself. And I kind of think of part of wisdom is is seeing our thoughts, Like you know, like if you go, well, I'm thinking this, it's like, well, who's looking? Who's looking at that thought? And that's really who you are. You think there's some wisdom in that, being able to see our thoughts and kind of helping us understand how our thoughts affect our emotions and like, oh, you know, the neighbors are doing this, they got the new car or whatever, and so I feel lesser Like you. Actually, the thought creates that emotion of, you know, disturbance in us.
Speaker 2:
Oh yeah, definitely. I mean, I think just the keeping up with the Joneses makes you feel You're able to step back and say, oh my gosh, okay, that's great that they got that car and I'm happy for those people, but I don't need this, I've got this, this, and that it's kind of like be a little bit higher Same thing with give a two or be a lot of people. So we'll give for notoriety and we'll give just give different levels. I'll look at it and say this is one.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, you know we were talking a little bit off air here and I know we had a little bit of a time crunch. It's so cool you have shift gears. It's kind of completely different subject, but I was thinking about, as you were talking about it, you know, temperance, and that's one of the other tenants in temperance is balance. And it seems extreme with that new agent. You have the new agents come in and they do a thousand dials in a day and that seems extreme. But do you think that by doing that and I know we were talking about this, so I know we're on the same live wave, like, but I kind of go on a little bit further with it when you, when you do something extreme, does that like open up what that balance is? Like the balance isn't? Oh well, I made 50 calls yesterday and if I make 25 today, at least I made 50, like, when they make that thousand, does it like expand? Does it expand them?
Speaker 2:
Oh, without a doubt, because then you know. They know they're supposed to make 100 calls a day or 250 calls a day. That's nothing. They've done a thousand. They'll so expand their mind where you know. It's an achievement that most agents never do like a thousand calls in one day and talking to people is a big deal, especially for a brand new agent who's never sold a house, or just about real estate. But against them a level of confidence. They'll still get set views to be on them. They don't have a choice. They suddenly don't care about what other people are doing with their calls, they just don't care about what other people are doing with their business.
Speaker 1:
That's awesome, Great leadership. How do you, how do you enroll them in that? I mean, you know, actually, I guess maybe I'll ask you in a different way. You have somebody sitting right by their side, kind of you have a whole the group and they're cheering them on and you cater the lunch. Are they like sucking down red bulls at that? Like, let me do it.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, actually we currently have ages that have been with our team that are doing another thousand dial. So I think yesterday dale um, she, the awesome woman who also holds down another job as an interior designer, but she did her thousand dial. She had can supreme goals and you know, so got me there she was. I might gain twenty pounds after doing this brand, these dial. I give her credit because half way through our office actually the internet went down and she was on call seven hundred ninety six. So we basically a deal will give you the thousand, you're fine. She said no, she went home and she finished her dials and I, director of operations, josh payton, was kind of the mastermind behind a lot of this Up down zoo with her and cheer for on which you with office, finish all thousand dial.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, that's an assity right there. So she, she just didn't want to lose like she'd like.
Speaker 2:
I've come so far, the marathon at the end is right there, and she, just, she just couldn't let that yeah, she made that commitment and she was like I'm so close, I'm not giving up on and this is the second one thousand dial day, so it's not like she hasn't achieved it before, but she did it to. It was I want it.
Speaker 1:
Man, how do you, how do you get those people geared up, like I mean, it takes a lot of courage to start, that Is, does it continue to take courage or is it just take like, just sheer grit, like what is it like? You've done it? Have you done it?
Speaker 2:
I am not physically called a thousand people.
Speaker 1:
Oh man we might have to have. Like you know, you and I go okay, like we'll get in there and get in trench. One of the things you know and I love about place like I've got my slide with my sleeves back up and I'm down, not up in my, my studio here, I'm down there with them Is that help them a lot like having those people by their side?
Speaker 2:
Having josh next to him and helping with some scripts. You know I eat that on Tuesday. It was his first day I went out. He didn't know anything. Script, rehearsed it a little bit and he flouts through Set up, appointment, built his business on his first day as a real man, that's awesome, did he set a couple of points?
Speaker 1:
he?
Speaker 2:
did. I think he said two appointments and he got two listing leads that called back as well.
Speaker 1:
I was like that and that's all circle, that's all circle, prospecting right prospecting.
Speaker 2:
We also have a pond account within our crm that they call that, but I think his this was 100% circle. Wow so yeah, it's a. Any change in is different. We had another on agent Samantha. She started it off on Monday and she's been with us for a long time. She has a giant z to be set people and she knew she needed to connect. She's actually a fundraiser for a people of her mission. She coincided, she just allowed her to be.
Speaker 1:
Awesome, awesome. Why might be? I might be sending something through a messenger and challenging you and saying, alright, we're gonna do this. We can ask them to do it if we're not gonna do that.