Dragon's Gold: The Magic of Mindset

Escaping the Golden Handcuffs: Michele Harkov on Trading Salary for Legacy

• Justin Mills • Season 1 • Episode 46

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Episode Description:

What happens when you trade a six-figure salary for uncertainty during a market crisis?. Michele Harkov's journey from a high-paying IT role to a top 1.5% ranked realtor reveals the incredible power of intentional decision-making, even when facing massive financial setbacks and personal uncertainty.

Michele shares the pivotal moment she realized she was living life for everyone else, the leap of faith that led her from Chicago to California, and the discipline it took to thrive when her income plummeted to just $12,000 in her first year of real estate. 

She details how the commitment to her family became the engine for her business growth, forcing her to create systems and hire a team to protect her values. This conversation is about finding the silver lining in every challenge and embracing the philosophy that "if it looked easy, I did my job well".

Key Takeaways:

• How a single "why"—the commitment to family—led her to leave a successful six-figure career.

• The unexpected silver lining of financial crisis (and how her husband’s layoff became a blessing for family time).

• The strategy behind building a referral-only business while maintaining work-life balance (and why she doesn't work Saturdays).

• Why "great minds think both": balancing client quality care with high family presence.

• The mindset of a top-tier performer: “Change is inevitable, suffering is an option”.

• The power of viewing success not as money, but as helping people find their "sacred space".

Tools & Weapons:

• Goals by Brian Tracy: The book she rereads every year to define intentional, big dreams and specific action steps.

• Intentionality & Specificity: Be intentional and very specific about your goals; the universe will conspire to bring you all that you want.

• Masterminds & Networking: Surround yourself with people who challenge you and help you learn from others' mistakes.

• Feed Your Soul the Good Stuff: Consciously consume positive content (podcasts, books, Instagram) to maintain motivation.

• Meditation: Helps keep her grounded and centered during overwhelming times.

• Value Clarity: "When your values are clear, your decisions are easy" (a quote cited by Michele).

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About Gold Dragon Investments:

At Gold Dragon Investments, our mission is to bring joy to others by helping them win the game of investing. Helping every client become the hero of their financial journey. We believe that wealth is a tool, but joy is the ultimate outcome.

Through meaningful partnerships, we strive to empower our investors to create freedom, and build lasting legacies of purpose, fulfillment, and wealth.

Join Us on the Adventure:

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome once again to another episode of Dragon's Gold, the magic of mindset. Today, we have the extreme pleasure of having Michele Harkov, a real estate investor and professional real estate agent for Compass ranked in the top 1.5 % nationwide of realtors ranked by the Wall Street Journal for the fifth year in a row. Michele, welcome to the show. Thank you, Justin, for having me. Honored to be here. it's absolutely my pleasure. Well, thank you. So as I like to do, let's dive into the origin story. Where did it all begin from Michele Harkov? So I am actually an immigrant. My family immigrated from Israel when I was five years old and lived in New York for a few years and then we moved to Chicago. And I just kept that westward trend. I went to college two and a half hours from where I lived. went to University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. So I didn't really venture too far away. And when I was 26, my boyfriend of five years and I had broken up. And I said, anything and everything that I wanted to do that I was too scared to do or because I was in a committed relationship, I'm going to do. And one of them was to prove to myself that I could leave my comfort zone and go somewhere where I didn't know anyone and just see if I could make it. So the intent was six months. ah We literally we broke up in October November. I sent out resumes December. I got calls January of 96. I flew out to California. I interviewed with three companies. They all offered me a job February my dad and I hopped in my Acura Integra that I had one suitcase my bicycle My golf clubs, which is a joke because I golfed maybe four times in my life But I thought I'm going to California for six months. I'll golf and my computer. And back then in 96, a computer was literally like your CPU, your monitor. Yeah, those five items. seat. Yeah, it had a seat all to itself. Yeah, exactly. I'm totally aging myself right now. But uh so I was really supposed to go for six months. I was just going to go out there. The intent was just to prove to myself I can make it on my own. The girl I ended up living with, I barely even knew her. She was uh the sales rep for a software application that we used at the law firm that I worked at. So I spoke to her maybe four times, but she's like, Sure, come you can, you know, sleep on my couch. She lived in a studio in the marina. mean, so And I went, that was my intent was to just go for six months. Three years later, everyone in Chicago is like, where are you? Where are you? Where are you? You said you're coming back. So, and back then I was doing IT training. I was in the software training. And so I moved back, I, I just, and I was literally home for like a month for the, for the summer. came back in May and I realized that I moved back. for everyone else, but not for me. Like I felt it in my core. And I believe I love my family dearly and I love my friends and I love Chicago. And it took me several years of being in California, even after I said, this is where I'm staying. There was always a part of me that was like, I'll go back eventually. But I just felt like I was living my life for everyone else and not for me. in the three years that I was, know, six months turned into three years turned into come back. I literally came back, by then I acquired enough things for a small moving truck. within a week or two of being back in Chicago, I just felt it in my core. I'm like, I'm doing this for everyone else but me. And I called the moving company, thank God they were delayed. And I'm like, turn it around boys, we're going back to California. And I just, came back and, you know, I miss my family dearly. And if I could have divided myself in half and been in two places, I would, but. um California is just where I felt alive. I absolutely love you sharing that Michele and I think it's so important for people to recognize that they have to be true to themselves Right because if you're doing everything for everybody else and you're not truly happy there like that that will have its it will take its toll Right on on you and on the relationships that you have right there will be resentment that may not be intentional But I believe that over time would begin to build um and I think that there's a lot of value in you recognizing that quickly Right. As you obviously and certainly know in business and speed is the currency of business. You have to make decisions quickly in many cases with the best information that you have now. And for you to make that kind of have that realization so quickly there and to make that decision, right. It must have certainly been a difficult one. Just as you say, you love your family. It was difficult for you, difficult for them, but you did the right thing for you in the long run. Right. It's important. So is there, And talk about a leap of faith, like absolutely. you, you, you had to believe in yourself. You had to know you're doing the right thing, right? That six month turning into three years, right? And then just trusting your gut and making that choice. That's it's uncomfortable, but it was the right path for you. Now I'm going to ask along those paths. There tends to be some bumpy roads. call this trials and tribulations, moments of discomfort that come along the way. Are there anything that is there any moment that jumps to your mind that you would share with listeners? Yeah, I would say, um I mean, there's so much growth that you have. I'm excited for my kids who are in college and high school years. The world is just starting for them. ah There's so many different people that cross into your paths. And I like to equate it. Have you ever played Chinese uh checkers? uh I think it's Chinese sugar. What was that game where you had marbles and they were on, they were on this little like it was, was a round board and you had marbles and you pull, you pull something and some of the marbles would fall and some of the marbles would stay on. I forgot what the name, do you know what game I'm talking about? Might be TDA. Although I would argue that on my daughter's game shelf over here, I probably have that game on the shelf. Her collection is starting to rival mine. So I would say that along the path of the road that I took and the different people that came in and out of my life, I equated to that game where you go down a road and every time you take another turn, you pull that little piece and some marbles fall and some marbles remain. And there are people that are in your life for a season, for a reason, right? And so it helps you to know that um not to sound cheesy, but my husband and I saw this on the bumper of a car. Change is inevitable, suffering is an option. Every time there's change, there's room for growth, there's something new to learn. So I would say my biggest growth was, I feel like I've had many, but one that really sticks with me was when I decided to switch careers, I was going from a systems engineer to going into real estate. I did so with the intent of, I had a very uh deep rooted why. At that time, I gave birth to our second child. We have three children, but at that time I gave birth to our second child. And I said to Steve, I'm like, listen, and this is what was good for me. There's no judgment here at all. ah But for me, I knew that we have our kids for 18 years of their lives, sort of. They never quite ever, you know. They don't quite leave yet, but in our day we did, we left. ah So we really have them for 18 years and I didn't want to spend my time. You could drop your children off at daycare at seven in the morning and pick them up at six o'clock at night. And you spend like an hour or two and you're feeding them, bathing them and changing them. And for me, it was really important to be present with them. So I left. a six figure salary in the IT industry and jumped in head first into the IT because or real estate because you know, everyone thinks that being realtor so easy and they make so much money and they have all this time and I invite anyone who thinks that to please come join the business. uh And I love the six figure salary that first year in real estate I barely made $12,000 that first year. mean, was in 09 when everything was, 08, 09 when the market was tanking and everyone's like, exit is that way. What are you doing? What are you coming in here now for? And Steve was also, there were a lot of layoffs during that time. my youngest was born in 09. And so I had left a good career. Steve then got laid off, but So it was a very trying time in our lives, but, but, you know, I always tell my children there's a silver lining in everything, right? Because from pain comes growth and there's always something you may not understand it at the time, but when you step back and you look at it, you realize, my gosh, I understand why that happened. Thank God he had the time off because I jumped into a consulting job with IT while I was trying to build my real estate. business and so we had someone at home with Eli when he was an infant. We wouldn't have had that, right? So you can look at the, my gosh, you know, we're eating up our savings, we're trying new things, one got laid off, one tried a new industry and now we have a third kid or you can look at it like, look how beautiful we get all this like special time with our kids. So it was tough, it wasn't easy, um but uh we survived and we thrived. Survive and thrive and that I think is the beauty of what you just said that idea of of Change is inevitable right suffering like that's that's an option like you you that's optional you don't have to to be able to find the silver lining to find the joy in that to find that in that beauty to go from six figures down to 12k to literally drop 90 ish plus plus percent of your salary like it to what like Wait, hey, how are we like food, water, like electricity? Do we need to have power this month? So, and of course, the hope is, is that when you make a leap like that, that you do go in with some protection. But oftentimes what I found is people don't go in with enough protection, especially recognizing, and I'm talking about having a reserve or a war chest, having something that's prepared to be able to allow you to launch into the next level or chapter to be able to level up. In fortune reality is, is it takes far longer. It's far harder, right? And, and the feces hits the fan. Things happen that you'd never expected. And then you have to find a way to learn and adapt and then grow and stretch through that. You obviously did that. You found the beauty in there. You have an incredible family. Like, I mean, I, I, I can say this. I know it's like, it's, either right. You're a wonderful human and you have a beautiful family. And that didn't come from nothing that came from the effort, the time. You being there for them, right? Steve being for them, there for them. Like that didn't happen because you dropped them off at daycare, right? For 12 hours a day. That is absolutely not a knock in any way, shape or form. My mother, like that's not about me, but my point being like, I understand what that is when you have to, you were blessed not to have to, right? And what a beautiful gift that that was as trying as it may have been to get through in the time, right? But but it you know listen I I did two jobs I work both in IT and I worked in real estate while I was trying to build up my real estate career I was still working in IT as a consultant which was another blessing because One I could create my own hours, but having that uh Constant salary coming in while I was trying to build up another business gave me the Confidence to know that I didn't just have to settle for whatever walked into you know came my way I was very uh Specific in who I wanted to work with because Again, it comes down to the why the the the reason why I made the change into real estate There were two reasons actually one of the reasons was to have this time with my children the other reason was because you know buying and selling real estate is one of the top five most stressful situations that a person goes through. There's death, divorce, uh bankruptcy. Buying and selling a home is in that top five. And we did that and we didn't have the best of experience and I made it my mission. was trying to decide where am I going to, what occupation am I going to go into that's going to give me some flexibility with my career, with my time to be able to have that time with my kids. And again, I think people's perception of real estate is not what the actuality of it is. But the reason why I did it was to be able to be present with them. But I was working two jobs. I mean, I was sleeping probably three hours a night, which for me is fine. I run on adrenaline. Some people can't function in under eight hours. If I get too much sleep, I don't function well. I am the opposite. So, but I... you do what you do. And the reality of it is I loved both. I mean, there came a point in time where I built up my real estate business and being able to do so, and I would tell anyone that wants to start a business, do so, start with it on the side and build it up and then make the transition. Because when you have that security, why was I able to make that leap and leave a six figure salary? Because we did have a little nest egg that we held onto. Why did I make the change and why did I then take the IT when I only made $12,000 that first year? Why did I jump back into IT? Because I wanted that stability while I was building the real estate business. And that also meant that because my why was being with my kids, I didn't just work with anyone. There's a lot of people who will waste your time out there. I was very... deliberate with who I wanted to work with. And so that also assured me that I was working with people who wanted to work with me, who weren't just wasting my time. And so it was a win, win, win. Like I really have my, my children really helped me shape the business that I have today uh because it always came back to them. If I found myself saying no to a field trip or a soccer game or whatever, and I coached all three of them in soccer, uh then I had to. rethink how I was doing my business and bring on people to help, bring in an assistant, bring in a transaction coordinator, do what I needed to do to live the life that I wanted to live. And that was being present with my children, but never at the expense of my clients either. So, but there were sacrifices, right? I mean, two jobs, three kids, four and under, you know, I did stay at home mom stuff, plus I worked, plus I was a, you entrepreneur. Hard. Somebody once said that success looks a lot like hardware, hard work addressed in overalls or something like that. Michele, a comment that you made there, I absolutely love. It made me think of great minds think both. And you wanted to be there for your children. You knew that you had to take amazing care and quality care of your clients. Your reputation in any industry is massive, And word of mouth is arguably like the biggest. You please correct me if I'm wrong, but I would expect that you get more clients by word of mouth than any other way. Yeah, I only, I work by referral. Yeah, so. at point exactly, right? Like your reputation is everything. So you make promises, you keep those promises, right? To the best of your ability. but in your promise was to your children too. So the idea of great minds think both, you found the way to be able to do both, right? And, and you didn't do it alone. You had to bring people on, right? And so that leads perfectly into the idea of the fellowship along our path. No one goes alone. Michele, who would you cite as someone that's gone along your journey with you? my gosh. A lot of people have come along on my journey. know, think the foundation of my journey is my parents, ah you know, immigrated to another country, barely spoke the language ah and provided for us and gave us, you know, unconditional love and support. And it didn't matter that we, you know, didn't have a lot of money at first, you know, it was support. So that was a foundation that, that I was, that was the groundwork for me. I definitely have to give props to my husband, Steve. In fact, when I decided to go into real estate, my mother said, does he know what he's signing up for? Because one of my, one of my transactions, was literally, had Eli was an infant. Eli, his age reminds me of how long people have been in their homes because Was I pregnant with him? Was he like an infant? And I was at my client's house at 11 o'clock at night with Eli, because he was about three or four weeks old. I was still nursing and we were signing, you know, signing a contract, writing a contract. And he called me. He's like, where are you? What's going on? Where are you? I'm like, with my clients. So they were friends of ours, too. So he felt a little safer. But uh It takes a special human being to be able to marry to um an entrepreneur in any industry. So uh he was definitely um someone who was there along with me. uh I've had coaches along the way. um I've had uh mindset coaches. I've had business coaches. I still have coaches. And they help keep you moving along. They help keep you accountable. They help... keep you motivated when you are self-employed, you got to get the juice. You got to figure out ways to stay motivated and say, no, no one cares if you show up to work or not. No one cares if you, you know, you do your job or not. You have no one to answer to. So having that having I've got a lot of different types of realtor groups that I belong to just sharing ideas with people and, talking about what they're seeing and learning from one another. And my mom used to say, you know, A smart person learns from their mistake. A wise person learns from others mistakes, right? So, you know, just constantly having people around you that you can bounce ideas off of and also having people that you aspire to be like that help you reach that next goal. don't, you never want to be the smartest person in the room, right? Sometimes you, you know, sometimes it's good to give back. Right? But you constantly want to challenge yourself. You want to put yourself in that uncomfortable position. definitely a lot of people in my life that have helped carry me through. My family is a big one. um And, you know, just different people in the industry, managers that I've had. uh I love it. And, and, of course the list goes on, right? So many people that go along this journey with us, but it's really amazing to be able to have a crux of support, a have someone along this journey with you that is, is in it and knows that they'll be with you for the long haul, right? For you to be able to have that kind of comfort, support and faith in your partner, right? In your family. And again, we're recognizing that it's part of your why. Like that only makes you want to work harder and succeed more and how like, right. And it just begins to feed itself in such a positive way. And I love the idea about the having as far as feeding, you got to find the juice. You got to find what is your fire? What is it that's going to make you burn and get up out of bed at four 30 in the morning or whatever your time and, and grind, right? Like what is it that's going to make you want to push hard? And I think you find that finding that why is one thing, motivation is fantastic. It gets you started, right? But it's discipline that keeps you going, right? That's what keeps the machine moving. And it took extreme discipline for you now after 17 years of doing this and coming in at not the most optimum time, arguably, in the market. ah Right and to be able to help so many people move into their first homes and then recognizing where the markets come be able to help them move possibly into their dream home or something more right and be able to end that reputation that you've built now all that word of mouth all that goodwill that you've built in the community well earned right with with a positive attitude a kind honest and hard work ethic right the the recipes Oddly enough, not that hard. It's a pretty simple one when you just do it, but you gotta do it and keep showing up every day, right? absolutely, absolutely. So Michele, one of the things that we ask about and I apologize, you may have even touched on part of this already, but we call it the darkest hour, a moment where you did think you were gonna throw in the towel or you just quit or it was just too much to bear. And is there a moment like that in your life? And if so, if I may ask, how did you overcome it? I don't think I ever, don't think the word quit just doesn't come into my mind at all. My dad has a really strong work ethic. Like if you, if you would call and he's like, you at work? And you said no. And he's like, why not? Like if you were not on your death bed, you needs to be in the office. You know what I mean? There was no like, so I have a very strong work ethic. So, so the word for me, there was never a word quit. was more of Okay, how are we going to get to the next level? What do we need to do? And I think it's, you know, it can be easy to get overwhelmed. um It can be, and especially today when you have so much information being thrown at you, it can be so easy to get overwhelmed and the whole mental health industry, m which is why for me, meditation is what helps keep me grounded. uh So I think it's just important to, when you feel like you're in your darkest hour, to just stop and take a breath. And what I always come back to is, is my family with me? Is everyone healthy? Who cares about everything else? If we have to live out of a shoebox, we will, we'll make it. How many times have you heard about people who became millionaires and lost everything and built it back up again, and maybe lost it again and built it back up again? I mean, I firmly believe we're never given more than we can bear. And so whatever's thrown at you, it's because you're ready for it. It's because you're capable of it. It's because now sometimes, and I say this to my children, there are lessons to be learned and the lessons start out easy. And if you don't learn it the first time, it's going to come back and it's going to come back harder. So figure it out the first time, right? Learn from charge interest. Yeah. Yeah, learn from it, you know, and use it to propel you to the next thing. yeah, there's there. Things aren't always happy. Go lucky. Things aren't always great. You know, things things happen in life. But if you're alive and you're breathing and you're healthy and your family for me, we'll figure the rest out. We'll figure the rest out, you know. Yeah, I love that. I love that. It's fantastic. Well, dragons gold. So we talk about the moments in life, the accolades and sometimes it's the mindset shift. What would you consider dragons gold on your journey? So for me, Dragon's Gold, um you're gonna find this out if you don't already know this about me. It's a multitude of things. I never have one answer for anything. It's kind of like I need five homes, because I want one home to be more like a lake house and one home to be traditional, I want it be modern. Same thing, Dragon's Gold for me is a variety of different things. um One of them is why do I love being a realtor? because family is so important to me and your home is your sacred space. And I get to help people either find their sacred space or sell their sacred space. And there's a reason why most realtors don't sell their own home because you are emotionally connected to that place, right? So it's a gift to be able, I always tell my clients, if it looked easy, I did my job well because I shielded you from all of the things that could go wrong. There's a lot of, you know, Peaks and valleys and you of course need to bring your clients into it But you don't bring them into every little thing and take them on this emotional rollercoaster I do bring them in when they need to come in and you try to you know work things out through communication So that for me is one lines goal that I get to help people find their sacred space and sell their sacred space Dragons gold for me another dragons gold for me is just um being inspired and motivated and hearing about other people who have done amazing things. ah there's a um Brian Buffini runs this company, created this company. used to be a realtor himself and he developed this company to help improve the lives of millions of people. And he did this thing every summer in August. He would do um this this three day mastermind he called it and in the beginning I thought it was just for realtors most of the things he did during the year was really just for realtors and lenders but mastermind was really more about like self-growth and and self-development and in the end the last two times that I went I brought my whole family with me before Jordan went to college the summer before she started college in the summer before Aaron started college I brought the whole family to it because he has all of these people Justin And some of them you probably know, because there's been movies about them and there's, you know, a prisoner of war and he had Neil Armstrong. And he had, when you hear these people's stories, they're so inspiring. And some of them had stories. uh One of them that comes to mind for me is John O'Leary, He, when he was nine years old, uh suffered massive burns like second and third degree burns on a hundred percent of his bodies. He had less than one chance. They gave him less than one percent chance of survival and he survived and thrived. And not everyone that you know who's a lot of people have stories where they've overcome. You want to talk about overcoming a darkest hour right? There's a lot of people who have. But some people were inspiring to me. um I I chatted with you about this before, Diana Nyack, right? She was the first person, person, not woman, person, to swim from Cuba, Havana, Cuba, to the Keys of Florida. And it took her five times to do so. And the first time she did it when she was 28, but the last four times she was over 60. Twice when she was 61, then 63, she finally succeeded at 64. 53 nonstop hours, 110 miles. 53 hours nonstop, 110 miles, in shark-infested waters without a shark tank, shark cage or whatever, at the age of 61, 61, 63, 64. That's inspiring. So that to me is like dragon's gold. Those are the juices that I get where when you think I can't, can't, can't, you think of people who did and you're like, I can do this. You know what I mean? And don't wait for some. tragic to happen to be like, rose from the ashes. Like, be grateful, be thankful that you are healthy and all that. But when you feel like, my gosh, I can't or woe is me, there's a solution for everything. And there's inspiring people everywhere. There's another little sign that I have in my office that says the world is full of nice people. If you can't find one, be one. You know, I mean, there's just so much, so much goodness out there. Those are gold. No, you've dropped so much amazing gold. Fantastic uh episode, no doubt. I'm certain that anyone listening to this right now agrees. One of the things I love quotes, you've dropped so many good ones here, ah which I love. And one in particular, that idea of if it looked easy, I did my job. How awesome. And I think no matter what you are, be a good one. total. And, and if you're like, if, and with whatever that was looked easy, then I did my job. And I think that there's so much power in that, in that packed in that. I think that anybody, no matter what they are, whether they're a chef in a restaurant, right. Whether there's a bus boy, uh, you know, whether they're an airline, uh, pilot, like whatever you are, like if it looked easy, you did your job. And, um, I think it's really, uh, super cool. And I appreciate it. You, added a lot of value to me in that quote. So thank you. amazing. So, massive statue of Michele. And I could just, think he's just got even bigger. it has a plaque on there that can say literally anything you want. This is the hall of heroes. And if it could say anything you want to share with future generations, what would you want to say? would want it to say anything is possible if you set your mind to it. Anything. And it's true. You have to believe, right? You have to believe and then do it, right? And it will come. The universe will conspire to bring you all that you want. Be intentional. Be very intentional. Be very specific. You got to do the work, right? Like I could say all day long, I want a good physique. But if I don't bring my butt into the gym, it's not going to happen. But if you're intentional and it's like, here's how I'm going to do it, you put it out there, people love to help people achieve their dreams and their goals. And don't be afraid to, you know, tell people. you know, what your dreams are. Everyone's so well connected. There's somebody who knows somebody who can, you never know, never know. Yeah, the power relationship, right? Then and the networking like, and you know, more than many in the industry that you're in, like the power relationship, the people that you know, the doors that open because of the relationship, the relationships that you made and, and, and, and your reputation precedes you. Right. And so if you burned other people, it's a small industry really, when you think about it, I mean, granted over 2 million realtors, I mean, it's not the small number and again, to be 1.5. percent for five years in a row. Like that's awesome. Like, you kudos to you. But it's an accolade that you earned. Right. And oftentimes the reputations that you the reputation that you've created, the effort you've put in, the good that you've done, the promises that you made and the commitments that you actually followed through with all of that culminates to the that compounding effect, right? That foundation that you've built and then so much more comes from it in such a greater fashion and a faster rate. And, but that didn't come from nothing. It came from all the effort and hard work that you did put in. So congratulations to you, Michele. So what's next? What's the next quest? What's the next adventure for Michele Harkov? Michele Harcourt? quest is definitely to continue um helping people find their sacred spaces, you know, or sell their sacred spaces. It's something that um I don't take lightly and I don't take for granted. There's a part of me that would love to help. young parents who are trying to figure out how to do that workflow balance between work, work in life, right? Like I'm a realtor and I don't work on Saturdays. I actually have a blog on my website about that. And it's like Saturday, Saturday, Sunday. Those are our biggest days for realtors. But again, it goes back to my why and my children. And that was my day to unplug, recharge, be fully present with my kids, not go to a baseball game, but check my phone. And when I meet with clients, I let them know that. And you know what, if I text my clients, now as they've gotten older, I kind of bend that a little bit, you know? ah But in the beginning, when clients would hear me, would see me texting on a Saturday, they would tell me, what are you doing, know, texting me on a Saturday? Go be with your family. I'll chat with you on Sunday. Or they'll text me on a Saturday and say, I know you're not working today, but tomorrow, could you please X, Y, and Z? So I'd love to be able to give back. And and you know help help young parents and by young I don't mean young because a lot you know a lot of people have children when they're older new parents I should say kind of navigate that and and show them that you can have it all if you're intentional with with you know with your Brian used to say when your values are clear your decisions are easy if you're intentional, and you know your why you can make you can make both things happen. You can have a successful career and be present with your family. So I would love to be able to give back and help people. Like I said, a wise person learns from others mistakes. Yeah, so I would just love to be able to help others learn from my mistake and be able to get to that point much quicker. I think that you absolutely, as you've already said, you can do anything you put your mind to. So there's no doubt if that's what you want, you're gonna get it. So Michele, we talk about tools and weapons, things that you have found along your journey that have helped you along the way, whether it be books or masterminds or different resources to share. What would you consider tools or weapons for your journey? Definitely books books uh Wow books are absolutely incredible and if I can recommend one One that I actually read ah at the start of every year uh one of my friends and I we every month we pick a book we figure out how many pages it has how many pages we need to read per week to complete it per month and once a week you jump on the phone and we talk about it and there's one that we keep bringing back and it's called Goals by Brian Tracy Have you read it? Phenomenal book. the reason why it is, is because it actually makes you do something. It makes you write things down. uh And uh it led to one of my biggest sales in real estate, because I went big and uh literally. a month after I did it for three months. He wants you to do it for one month. I did it for three months. And on that fourth month, I got the biggest sale in real estate. So dream big is what I got to say. Like as much as you think this is your boundary, there's even boundaries beyond just dream big. So books are definitely one uh masterminds, networking groups. uh And then I like to, you know, all these algorithms, I like to follow the good stuff. Put the good stuff in your head. Brian Buffini says that a lot. Feed your soul the good stuff. uh So I just follow a lot of positive, podcasts and uh YouTube channels and Instagram accounts. Oh, yes. And that's what, the more you look at this kind of stuff, the more it comes back. And why not just put the good stuff in your soul? So it's people and it's books and it's quotes and it's I love that. I love that. That's a huge reason for this podcast is exactly that to be inspiring. Right. So I love that. So, all right, Michele, my favorite question to ask most important one, by the way, if you could be any mythical creature, what would you be and why? I have look this up because I don't do the mythical creature stuff. um And of course, like I said, there's never one answer for me. So I'm going to be a hybrid of like a Pegasus and um a Phoenix, right? Because I constantly re-imagining, like you can't kill me, right? Like I'll constantly like come back from the ashes. So I'm a hybrid, whatever you want to call uh a Pegasus, Phoenix, a "Peganix" I love it. love it. I'm sure in some D &D manual, there is a creature that we can find it. And we really just pop it into AI and like ChatGPT or the Gemini image generator, we will find it. what do you recall from the Pegasus? What was it that you, if not specifically, just generically, what was it that resonated with you. on, let me pull up So the Pegasus is a winged horse from Greek mythology associated with inspiration, freedom and heroism. So, you my husband and I used to skydive, I love the sky. So flight, air, sky, that speaks to me. Inspiration, you know. oh My middle name is I but it's it stands for Israel my maiden name but inspiration I mean, I love being inspired and I love inspiring other people uh and heroism I you know, I like many women and men I'm sure too, right like if if I need to I will do whatever I need to do to be there for people, for my family, for whatever. So, and heroism comes in many, many forms and it doesn't have to be something big and elaborate. You know, it could be saving, you know, a ladybug from being squished by, you know, somebody's foot or whatever, but um they just speak to me. So that's my choice, Peggy. I love it. No, it's fantastic, wonderful. While there's never any wrong answer, that was certainly a wonderful answer. So thank you. Michele, it's really been such a pleasure having you on the show today. Thank you for joining us. Pleasure is mine and I love that you do this for people. think it's, I'm not surprised you are an amazing soul, but I just love that you do this for others. And ah it's been fun to hear about, you've had some great people on your show. It's been fun listening to their stories too. Thank you, Michele. Well, I'm excited to share yours because I know a lot of people are gonna love it. So thank you. Thank you. My friends, thank you for joining us once again on our quest to inspire, educate, and empower you to turn your dreams into reality, one mindset shift at a time. We'll see you next time.

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Justin Mills

Host
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Aaron Iler

Producer
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Michele Harkov

Guest