Grit, Resilience, and Real Estate: Tara Maxwell’s Journey to the Top 4%

🎸 Rockstar Review: Tara Maxwell on the Mortgage Punk Show 🎙️

Get ready to have your mind blown by this absolute powerhouse episode! ⚡ Tara Maxwell isn't just a Top 100 realtor in the Wichita market; she is a total resilience legend who brings a massive heart to the high-stakes world of real estate! 🏠

From her early days in Arizona to becoming a top 4% producer, Tara’s journey is nothing short of legendary. ➡️She drops major truth bombs on why you need "grit" to survive the industry and explains how she built a thriving career by transitioning from transactional to deeply relational business. 📈🤝

The most electrifying part? ⚡ Tara opens up about her incredible battle with stage 3C breast cancer in 2020. Even while the world was shutting down, she was working, fighting, and proving that she is a total warrior! Her "silver lining" perspective on life’s biggest crises will leave you feeling completely inspired to value every single second. 🔥

Whether you're looking for expert real estate leadership or a masterclass in staying positive when life throws a punch, this episode is pure platinum! 💿🤘

Don't miss out on these rockin' sponsors who keep the show rolling:

• TW Custom Homes
• Kihle Roofing & Construction
• Pillar To Post Home Inspectors
• Old Castle Title

💥 Subscribe to The Mortgage Punk Show for more conversations with disruptors, leaders, and community builders changing the face of real estate and homeownership.

About Mortgage Punk

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Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:01

Hey everyone. Uh, want to welcome you to the Mortgage Punk Show. Thanks for tuning into this episode. Um, I've got a really special guest, but every time I get on the show, Tara, I always have a really special guest. That's right. But you're special, but everyone's special in like a super unique way. So we have a unique friendship and relationship that has been long-lasting. Like it's been a while since we originally met. Um, we've been talking about having you on the podcast for hot time. Um, not quite as long as we've known each other. So let me tell you something that's really cool and unique about uh Tara um and myself in terms of just working together in partnership in business and in real estate. Um, I would say that you are, I think you and Jeff, uh, and Jeff is Tara Sudden. We'll talk about him more later. They are like a team. Um I I I think I've been working with you guys almost the longest. Yeah, I would think almost the longest relationship.

SPEAKER_00 1:00

Yes. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:01

With a realtor partner.

SPEAKER_00 1:02

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 1:03

And I think we met, uh, tell me if I'm wrong, didn't we meet like in I don't know, 2018? Oh, the date?

SPEAKER_01 1:12

Uh I would be 14. I think it was about 14 or 15.

SPEAKER_03 1:16

Somewhere around now.

SPEAKER_01 1:17

Yep.

SPEAKER_03 1:18

So so yeah, it's been pretty, pretty uh it's been a long run. Fun run. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 1:24

And now we're neighbors. Yeah, you're fun, all right.

SPEAKER_03 1:26

And now we're neighbors.

SPEAKER_00 1:28

Yes, we are. Yes.

SPEAKER_03 1:29

So we live in the same neighborhood. Tara helped me uh get excited about that when we were shopping for lots. She's like, Oh, let me tell you about this place. Yep. So, anyhow. So, um, let me start with this question. Why don't you uh tell us a little bit about yourself, kind of your background, where you're from, and maybe a little short story on how you made it into real estate. Like what was the road to real estate.

SPEAKER_01 1:55

Oh gosh, that's a that was that's a lot.

SPEAKER_03 1:58

Because how how how long have you been an agent now?

SPEAKER_01 2:00

Thirteen years.

SPEAKER_03 2:01

Thirteen.

SPEAKER_01 2:02

Yep, thirteen years.

SPEAKER_03 2:03

So that's about when I met you then.

unknown 2:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 2:06

It was about a couple years in. Uh-huh. Okay. Yeah. Give us, you don't have to give us all that. You can give us as much detail as you would like.

SPEAKER_01 2:15

I'm originally from Arizona.

SPEAKER_03 2:17

Okay. And where home prices are stupid cheap.

SPEAKER_01 2:21

No.

SPEAKER_03 2:24

And where it's and where it's hot. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:26

Yeah, there's no seasons. Anyway, um, I moved here when I was about 23. So I was born and raised in Arizona and then moved to Wichita. And um in high school I remember wanting to be a realtor and thinking there's no way I I can do that. That's just no, other people do that. What did you see? Me.

SPEAKER_03 2:47

Like what what triggered that didn't see doing that?

SPEAKER_01 2:51

I didn't see anybody then doing it. I just always loved properties. Um, not in an investment sense, but I loved houses and and no no family members?

SPEAKER_03 3:03

No, like no. No, my dad was a banker.

SPEAKER_01 3:08

My dad was a vice president of a bank, first interstate bank.

SPEAKER_02 3:13

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 3:14

And um, my mom was a stay-at-home mom. And anyway, so fast forward to moving to Wichita, I uh continued um just doing regular odd jobs and always had it in the back of my head that real estate would be fun. And then unattainable. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 3:35

Why? Like what was going through your head to make you feel like it was out of reach.

SPEAKER_01 3:40

Well, I do know now in hindsight that, and a lot of newer agents will say this too. I think you do have to have a lot, if not just enough confidence in what you're doing. I suppose just like any job, in order to love it and actually do it well.

SPEAKER_03 4:03

So, like knowledge, like lack of knowledge, like I know nothing about this. Is that yeah, it seems overwhelming at first. I see.

SPEAKER_01 4:11

Because it is.

SPEAKER_03 4:12

It is a lot.

SPEAKER_01 4:13

It's overwhelming even when you know a lot and you've had a lot of experience. It's still super overwhelming.

SPEAKER_03 4:19

Right.

SPEAKER_01 4:20

But the more time goes by and the more you experience, the more you're able to have confidence. You're not worried about it, and then you can be yourself.

SPEAKER_03 4:31

And so you felt so you just felt overwhelmed by what it would take to gain all that knowledge to know how to do that.

SPEAKER_01 4:40

Yeah, that and be the person actually guiding others in a home purchase. Because yeah, uh you think showing houses sounds real fun, right? Right, right. Like I said, at first I just loved houses. Well, there's a lot more to that.

SPEAKER_02 4:57

Right.

SPEAKER_01 4:58

There's a lot more than just showing houses. Um, that's just a blip in what our job as realtors is.

SPEAKER_03 5:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:07

Yeah, it's not all fun and fabulous.

SPEAKER_03 5:10

Right. There's a grind.

SPEAKER_01 5:12

Yes. Yeah. You have to have a lot of grit. Is a word that I always think of. If you don't if you don't have that and you you don't know at first that you're gonna have to push through, even when it's hard, you will you won't make it.

SPEAKER_03 5:32

You get knocked over. Yeah. By the way, before I ask you the next question, I want to say congratulations to you because you just made the top 100 real estate agents in the Wichita market, which is a big deal. Yeah, there's 2,500 agents in the roughly in the Wichita market. And Tara just made it in the top 100 this year going into 2020.

SPEAKER_01 5:52

For 2025.

SPEAKER_03 5:53

For 2025.

SPEAKER_01 5:54

Yep.

SPEAKER_03 5:54

She's in the top 100 out of 25 agents, that's 4%. So top 4% producer. Tara's definitely a rock star. This girl is a strong negotiator.

SPEAKER_00 6:07

Yes. And I like that part.

SPEAKER_03 6:09

I think the grit piece of what you just said probably has a lot to do with that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:15

It does.

SPEAKER_03 6:15

Wouldn't you say? Yes. You can't let people push you around.

SPEAKER_01 6:19

No, but sometimes you do have to let them push you around.

SPEAKER_03 6:22

Is that something that like you're is that something you feel like you're good at, or that you have always been like a way, a way that you've been wired, or have you had to like force yourself to start being that way in an uncomfortable It is really uncomfortable a lot of times.

SPEAKER_01 6:42

A lot of my personality is I like to I like to give my opinion, especially when I'm helping somebody overcome something they're stuck on. Right. So when I have buyers who are maybe seeing 15 properties and they still don't they're still not there, they haven't found the one, I I can tell probably in the first couple of houses we see, that somebody needs to tell them what they're really looking for, or what they're really worried about, or what they're uh really wanting.

SPEAKER_03 7:22

Well, that would be like leadership.

SPEAKER_01 7:24

So part of this too, and I I thought of this the other day, I was actually telling my newest team member, Ian DeWitt. Yeah. Yeah, he's awesome. Stop Ian super sharp. I want to say kid, because he's 23. Yes. Um, but he's very sharp, and he said, Oh, that's just gonna be really hard to tell them. But you you have to do it. And what I said was, and it just kind of came to me, it's true, is they want somebody to tell them.

SPEAKER_03 7:55

They do.

SPEAKER_01 7:56

Buyers want somebody to tell them this is what you need to do. I don't care what you're thinking about this, I'm still looking out for you, but to your detriment is that thought you need to do this instead.

SPEAKER_02 8:11

Right.

SPEAKER_01 8:12

And and they're looking for someone to say that to them.

SPEAKER_03 8:17

Otherwise, they don't need to hire you.

unknown 8:18

Right.

SPEAKER_01 8:19

Why hire you?

SPEAKER_03 8:20

If they're not looking for an expert.

SPEAKER_01 8:22

Right.

SPEAKER_03 8:22

Right?

SPEAKER_01 8:23

Especially as um working with sellers, there's a lot of that where I have to say, okay, I know this is where you're coming from. I do understand I'm representing you still, but you have to think of it another way. And oh, okay, I hadn't really thought of it that way.

SPEAKER_03 8:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:43

So getting to the car where did you respond?

SPEAKER_03 8:46

How did Ian respond?

SPEAKER_01 8:47

He was like, Well, you're right, they do. But he's newer. I think he's had his license about a year now. So he hasn't worked with a ton of people, which by the way, that's normal. It's going to take you several years to build up clientele. I mean, clientele. If you think you're gonna have 10 clients your first year, that's really uncommon. It it takes experience, but if you remember that buyers and sellers have hired you for a reason and they want you to guide them, right? Take confidence in that.

SPEAKER_03 9:19

Yeah, that's a great point.

SPEAKER_01 9:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 9:21

And I hope anyone watching uh is encouraged by that because I mean, I just it makes me think of like when like when I'm at the I don't know, when I'm at the doctor, the doctor better freaking know what like I I don't want you to like him haw or around tell me. Tell you what do I gotta do? Yeah, what's the problem? Just say it. I need to know, or I'm going to a different doctor in lots of detail, you know. So I that's a really good point, Tara. Um, I'm glad you made that because I I don't know if anyone's made that point on this show.

SPEAKER_01 9:52

I've just learned it along the way.

SPEAKER_03 9:53

But it's what makes you a valuable realtor. Um, you know, they're paying a commission. You're you're you're you know, they should get that. Yeah, they should get an expert to tell them this is what you need to do. I can tell I've been listening to you guys.

SPEAKER_01 10:08

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 10:09

Here's the mar I know the market, right? Put the two together, here's what you need.

SPEAKER_01 10:13

Yeah, you should know the market.

SPEAKER_03 10:15

You're right.

SPEAKER_01 10:15

There are a couple things to that too, though. Part of it is your personality, right? Like I'm kind of bossy. I'm a nice bossy. But, anyways, we'll ask Jeff about that later.

SPEAKER_02 10:28

That's funny.

SPEAKER_01 10:28

Okay, so part of it is your personality, and another part of it is what you are learning along the way and what knowledge you've even taken the time to learn from other realtors mostly.

SPEAKER_02 10:41

Right.

SPEAKER_01 10:42

Um, and then also if you don't know something, do not pretend.

SPEAKER_03 10:50

Don't fake it till you make it.

SPEAKER_01 10:52

No, because nobody's you say I don't know, but I will find I will find that out. I'm on it.

SPEAKER_03 11:00

Right.

SPEAKER_01 11:00

And when you're first starting out, you say that a lot.

SPEAKER_03 11:03

Right. Yep. And that's a good line. I I'll get back to you on that. Let me find out. Yep. Answer that question. We got to take a minute to to thank one of our sponsors, Tara. So um, I'm gonna hold the next question and give a shout out to Kerry Leonard. I'm sure you probably know him, being in the housing market at Wichita. And uh, Kerry is the owner of Old Castle Title Company. Uh, so he's one of our sponsors for the show. Kerry, I appreciate your sponsorship. Uh uh listen, if you're buying or selling a home, title work is a very big deal. And it's a very big deal because that's a lot of money that's being transacted and exchanging hands. And the last thing you want is someone coming up and knocking on your door years later and saying, Hey, I still have the rights to your home. My grandpa from three generations ago owns that. And you're like, Yeah, I don't think so. It's so that's what a title company is for. They are there uh to ensure that you have a clean transaction, that there's clear title on the property that you're buying, so that you don't have anyone knocking on your door. And if you do, you have insurance with that title company to make that problem go away. So, right? Yeah, super important. Yeah, yeah. $100,000, $200,000, $500,000 moving hands. You you need a title company. Um, businesses use attorneys, and in real estate, we use title companies. So uh Kerry, thank you for all your support. Uh, we appreciate you and wish the best over at Old Castle. Your team is fantastic. I love working with them. I know my team loves working with them. So um, if you're getting ready to close on a home purchase or a home sale, uh give Kerry and his team at Old Castle a title or at Old Castle title a call. Sorry. And uh tell them Chris uh from the Morge Punk Show sent you. So thanks for your support, Carrie. Um, all right. So next question. All right, so you are from Arizona. How did you get from there to Kansas? Like, where's that?

SPEAKER_01 13:06

What's gonna ask that story question?

SPEAKER_03 13:09

Well, you know you want to answer that question.

SPEAKER_01 13:11

I mean, it doesn't really matter. I was young and I fell in love with some guy in Tucson, Arizona, where I was living. Okay, who happened to be from Wichita.

SPEAKER_03 13:21

Oh.

SPEAKER_01 13:21

And he wanted me to move back here with him. So I did.

SPEAKER_03 13:24

Okay. Easy enough. You're right. I think that's a I don't think uh I think that's a pretty common story. I hear that a lot. Okay, good. Just getting to know people. I hear that. Um it's kind of like uh what's the name of that movie with uh Matt Damon? I met a girl.

SPEAKER_01 13:39

Oh gosh.

SPEAKER_03 13:40

It's like a famous movie that him and Ben Affleck did together. What's the name of it? Goodwill Hunting.

SPEAKER_01 13:47

Oh, I just talked about that movie the other day.

SPEAKER_03 13:49

Oh, go see about a girl. I asked That's how the whole movie is I'm going to see about a girl.

SPEAKER_01 13:53

So I asked Jeff if we could watch that movie because I just loved that story. Anyways, yes.

SPEAKER_03 13:58

Come and tell. Okay, so that's what got you here to Wichita. Yep. Yep. Um, what kept you in Wichita?

SPEAKER_01 14:05

My children.

SPEAKER_03 14:06

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 14:07

And I love Wichita.

SPEAKER_03 14:09

You do?

SPEAKER_01 14:10

I really do. Yeah. People say, Why are you why are you still here? Don't you want to move back to Arizona where you're from? No, it's gorgeous there. I took the views and all of that for granted because the mountain was literally in my backyard. But I need the seasons.

SPEAKER_03 14:27

Okay. That's what you like about Wichita? You like the seasonality?

SPEAKER_01 14:32

I had never had seasons before. Not real ones.

SPEAKER_03 14:35

No kidding.

SPEAKER_01 14:35

Yep.

SPEAKER_03 14:36

Interesting. I was gonna ask you, what's the one thing about Wichita that you love the most?

SPEAKER_01 14:41

The seasons and all the different weather.

SPEAKER_03 14:44

Because you are a coffee fan. You drink cold coffee, don't you? I do most of the time.

SPEAKER_01 14:51

Well, when it's freezing outside, which I wish it would be right now.

SPEAKER_03 14:54

Yeah, I don't care. I'm glad. Bring Arizona weather to Wichita, bring it on. Oh, like that's what that's what I wish for.

SPEAKER_01 15:02

I want to be stuck inside and watch the snow, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 15:05

And all bundled up. Oh my goodness. Um, so when you moved here, uh, what were you doing career-wise? Oh and where did real estate come into career.

SPEAKER_01 15:16

Well, I didn't know what I wanted to do. Okay, no, it was terrible. I struggled till I was what 30, low early 30s before I was given the opportunity to do real estate.

SPEAKER_03 15:29

Which you didn't even think you could do.

SPEAKER_01 15:30

No, I really was. Well, I'll get my license, but Jeff is the one who encouraged me because um, you know, you have to have it in an ideal world, when you start going into real estate, you want to have health insurance and you want to have regular income somehow.

SPEAKER_03 15:50

All the perks of like a corporate career.

SPEAKER_01 15:53

Yeah, so but we don't get that in real estate. We work on commission, as everybody knows. Well, most people you're a business owner.

SPEAKER_03 15:59

Yeah, so solopreneur.

SPEAKER_01 16:02

So when Jeff and I got married in 2011, um Oh, it'll be 15 years this May. Congratulations. Thank you. When we got married, he said, Why don't you quit your job in HR and get your license? And I said, No.

SPEAKER_03 16:22

Where did that where did that conversation even come from? Like, why did he say that?

SPEAKER_01 16:27

So his dad did it even his dad, um, Jim Maxwell, worked for Berkshire Hathaway in his retirement. Really? Uh-huh. And he he did you know, he just did it for fun on the side.

SPEAKER_02 16:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:40

Um so I ended up checking out Berkshire Hathaway through Jim.

SPEAKER_03 16:47

Really? Yep. I did not know that part of your story.

SPEAKER_01 16:50

And then I I still need to find this out, but somewhere down the line in Jeff's family was Maxwell Realty. And I don't I need to research that. I it's crazy I haven't done that yet. But anyway.

SPEAKER_03 17:06

I know Jeff's that go generations back.

SPEAKER_01 17:09

Grandmother. They were investors. Like they bought laundry, laundromats or something.

SPEAKER_02 17:16

Okay. And just a lot multiple businesses.

SPEAKER_01 17:21

And we're really successful that way. So it must be intertwined in there somewhere.

SPEAKER_03 17:26

So so it was because of your father-in-law. That's what brought the real estate conversation.

SPEAKER_01 17:32

Patty Sanders, my favorite.

SPEAKER_03 17:34

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 17:35

She's my broker. Um, talk she has been since I started, which was 13 years ago. Yeah. And um, so I went and talked to her. I remember I very clearly remember that day. And she's I remember her saying, Yeah, you can get your license through us, and I was shocked. I don't know why, but it was like a job interview.

SPEAKER_03 17:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:58

And um, so I did. So I got my license.

SPEAKER_03 18:01

Yeah, because you were already you already assumed that it is out of reach.

SPEAKER_01 18:05

Yeah, I don't know what I thought they were gonna be looking for, but I so I went and studied for my license took classes. I quit my job in HR.

SPEAKER_03 18:16

What was the attraction to HR? Why'd you pick?

SPEAKER_01 18:20

Because I thought I would be working with a lot of people. And I wasn't stuck at a computer all day.

SPEAKER_03 18:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:26

Doing boring. It was so boring.

SPEAKER_03 18:30

I think I've taught to in the last six months that has an HR career or had an HR career that did it because that's what you automatically think.

SPEAKER_01 18:38

Yeah, you think you're gonna work with a lot of people. HR. Lots of people. Yay, yay. Nope.

SPEAKER_03 18:43

That's so wild. You do?

SPEAKER_01 18:50

Yeah, I do.

SPEAKER_03 18:51

Really?

SPEAKER_01 18:51

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_03 18:52

Okay, I didn't know that.

SPEAKER_01 18:53

Yeah, I do. That's why I was an HR. I thought I could work my way up. And then, you know, I mentioned real estate with Jeff, and he's like, Well, you know, I have health insurance for all of us, so let's just want you to try it.

SPEAKER_02 19:07

Right.

SPEAKER_01 19:08

And then my first year, um, it well, it definitely wasn't about the money. I I really knew I would love the job, which I do, or I wouldn't be here, trust me, because it's it's really rough sometimes.

SPEAKER_03 19:21

Yeah. But you get to be around people.

SPEAKER_01 19:23

I do. All kinds of all kinds of people. My first year, um, I did really well. And every year since I've increased my production and my people load.

unknown 19:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 19:40

That's great. Terrible.

SPEAKER_01 19:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 19:42

Now you're in the top 100, which is fantastic. Yeah. What mistake has taught you the most in real estate so far? In 13 years, you're in the top 100. What mistake taught you the most?

SPEAKER_01 19:56

Oh man. I think, well, it's gonna be more in of an in general, because you know, certain circumstances I can't talk about, but um, and they happen to all realtors eventually. Taking things personally, especially the first few times I had, you know, you know, maybe somebody wasn't happy about something and the way they talked to me or maybe screamed um or yelled at me. Um, I took it personally and I still struggle with that sometimes. Mostly because I have really good intentions for all of my clients, whether they're buyers or sellers. And I I mean, why else would I be representing somebody?

SPEAKER_02 20:43

Right.

SPEAKER_01 20:44

I mean, I wholeheartedly wholeheartedly love it and I really want to like everybody. I want everybody to like me who doesn't want everybody to like them, right?

SPEAKER_02 20:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:55

That's just not gonna happen. You're you're never gonna make everybody in a transaction happy um every time.

SPEAKER_03 21:02

Right. Right. And so So what mistake? That would do you feel like you that wouldn't really be a mistake. Uh because I s because I would have snapped back. Because you let it, I see what you're saying.

SPEAKER_01 21:12

I took it personally.

SPEAKER_03 21:13

That's the mistake is letting it take you taking it personally and then and then and then having to fight against responding in the wrong way.

SPEAKER_01 21:21

Yeah, because yes, I mean, we don't have bosses, we have brokers, and we um, you know, I'm kind of going off on a tangent, but there is a difference between someone who's a real estate agent and somebody who's a realtor, because you can choose to be a realtor or you can choose to be a real estate agent. And if you're a realtor, then you are held to a much higher um ethics standard. Standard of practice is higher. Um, you're held, you know, to the fire a lot more, which is great. I mean, you you have to be because you're dealing with something that's huge, right? Somebody purchasing. At home or selling their home. And you're dealing with a lot of life situations with all different kinds of people. But back to, you know, trying not to take things personally is really hard because I know that I'm trustworthy and I know that I have the best intentions for everybody that I'm representing, buyer or seller. But I will say that a lot of the time, clients really don't trust you right away. And they may never feel like they do. It's the nature of real estate no matter how hard you try sometimes. And sometimes last week I discovered, you know, a particular client that I knew I was never going to make happy. It didn't matter what I did. And Jeff said, listen, you know, I'm venting to Jeff. And he said, Listen, you're not going to make them happy.

SPEAKER_02 22:59

Right. She's not.

SPEAKER_01 23:01

No, all of your explaining and rehashing is not going to change her mind. Right. So you cannot take it personally.

SPEAKER_03 23:10

So what do you do? What helps you? What do you do?

SPEAKER_01 23:14

It depends on the situation. In this particular situation, I did have to say I I realize that you hired me and I'm your buyer's agent and I am I'm really doing that job for you. And I care. And but I will not be treated that way at the same time.

SPEAKER_03 23:33

Right. So you draw boundaries.

SPEAKER_01 23:35

Yes. Just like in any job.

SPEAKER_03 23:38

Sure.

SPEAKER_01 23:39

Or in any partnership and business, if somebody treats you a certain way, just because you were hired doesn't necessarily mean you don't have a right to say, I'm not going to be treated like that.

SPEAKER_03 23:51

Yeah. Does that help?

SPEAKER_01 23:52

It does. It does. Yep. Instead of, you know.

SPEAKER_03 23:56

It sets the right expectation, I'm sure. It does. So that your client knows most of the time it does. Like.

SPEAKER_01 24:02

And I rarely would say once every couple of years I have to do that.

SPEAKER_03 24:08

Right.

SPEAKER_01 24:09

But yep.

SPEAKER_03 24:11

That's how that's part of the job.

SPEAKER_01 24:13

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_03 24:14

Well, listen, uh, I want to take a quick break uh to mention one of our other sponsors for the podcast, which is Jason Hancock. He is a fantastic home inspector. Uh, he's with Pillar to Post Home Inspections. Uh, so before you buy a home, you do need the truth, not guesswork, so about your property condition. So, Jason with Pillar to Post Home Inspections brings clarity to one of the biggest decisions, like we just talked about, that you'll ever make. Uh, they're thorough, professional, and great at explaining what actually matters versus what doesn't. Uh, good inspection gives you leverage, confidence, and peace of mind. That's why pillar to post is the gold standard. Uh, Jason's awesome. I know him. Uh, don't know if you've run across him in your business or not, but he just does a fantastic job. He does quality work, he cares about people and what he does. So um, if you're looking for a great home inspector, call Jason and tell him Chris from the Mortgage Punk Show sent you his way. Um, Tara, you ready to roll here? Yes. Okay, good. Um what do you do now in your business that you did not do 12 years ago? 11 12 years ago. What do you do now that you didn't do then? And how's that impacted your business in whatever direction?

SPEAKER_01 25:35

Lots of follow-up is what I do now.

SPEAKER_03 25:38

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 25:39

A lot of follow-up. I have automated follow-up um through mailings. I like to do mailings because I'm old school that way.

SPEAKER_03 25:46

Great.

SPEAKER_01 25:47

Or handwrite notes.

SPEAKER_03 25:48

Do you get people respond that respond to that?

SPEAKER_01 25:51

Yeah. I think it just And we'll say thank you for well, people don't write things back, no.

SPEAKER_03 25:56

Do you get any feedback?

SPEAKER_01 25:57

Sure, a text message, yep. Yep. Or I'll, you know, remember someone's birthday, or I just like to keep the I make a lot of friends when I'm in, you know, doing my job. Um, there are a lot of people that I still want to talk to or see years later or months later. So, or I follow them on Facebook and mail them a baby gift or things like that.

SPEAKER_03 26:20

So when you say follow-up, is that what you're talking about? Yes, more than that. Okay. So, in other words, you you used to you uh tell me if I'm wrong or or right on this, but it sounds to me like when you started in the industry, maybe things were a little more transactional. Oh, yeah. Now they've become relational. Yes, because and that follow-up is the bridge between transaction versus personal.

SPEAKER_01 26:45

Because I know what I'm doing now or relationship in the job part.

SPEAKER_03 26:49

You feel like you've hit the X of uh I'm a real realtor now. I know things.

SPEAKER_01 26:55

Yes, it's weird. Yeah, I do know my job.

SPEAKER_03 26:58

Like that knowledge impossibility.

SPEAKER_01 27:01

It changes all the time, though. That is one thing. Uh sometimes I'm shocked when I learn something new that I'm like, what? What and yeah, new.

SPEAKER_03 27:13

Well, you've done enough transactions. And there's just too many.

SPEAKER_01 27:17

There's so many nuances in this job that people don't realize. It is not showing houses and making an offer. That's like the first five minutes of the transaction.

SPEAKER_03 27:31

Oh, right, right, right. You know, so a lot more to it than that. Yep. Have you had to share that with with new realtors that you either have worked with or oh yeah, have come across?

SPEAKER_01 27:43

Yep. Like Ian on my team.

SPEAKER_03 27:46

Do you think that that's what they come into the industry thinking? Is this just a matter of just opening the door and letting people in houses almost? Yes.

SPEAKER_01 27:54

And that's kind of the or a lot of people think, well, I'm gonna make a lot of money. You can ultimately.

SPEAKER_03 28:02

But you can make a lot of money doing it, just about anything.

SPEAKER_01 28:04

Yeah, it's a very good put some ingenuity into it and work hard. But if you're doing it for the money, you will fail. You will you will not keep going. Because it is not, it is not an easy job. I remember two, was it two years ago? I've lost track. Three years ago when interest rates were so low and there was this huge influx of new agents. And I remember one day saying to Jeff, who are who are these people? Like, I don't even know who I'm talking to anymore.

unknown 28:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:43

When I'm I want to schedule a showing and I have questions, and I'm like, I don't know this name. I don't but it would be like five names in a row. And um but but I heard through the grapevine a lot of people thought this is gonna be so easy because look how fast these houses are selling. There's multiple offers on there's I'm like, yeah, there's 12 offers on one property for $200,000, you know, a little dinky property, and that is a nightmare. And if you don't know what you're doing as a seller's agent, every little tiny nuance matters and can make a huge difference if you don't know.

SPEAKER_03 29:23

Yeah. Um you think that a lot of those people are still around in the industry?

SPEAKER_01 29:27

No, and that's what I was getting to. They're not. So that time was wild and crazy. And I remember a lot of faces that you know even came over to our brokerage, they they didn't last because it was not easy. That was the that was the most difficult year in real estate for me at least. And and I've heard other agents say the same thing. It was hard for our buyers. Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_03 29:53

So saturated. Yep. Yeah, it's the same in my industry. Loan people won't come do all loans and new mortgages.

SPEAKER_02 30:02

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 30:03

It's I and I I'm just like you, I don't like that. I like it when the market uh shifts and flushes all all of those players out because they're not in the top 100.

SPEAKER_01 30:15

Well, yeah, no, I just it was scary to see all of that, but you know, it's business. I understand why they would see.

SPEAKER_03 30:22

Sure.

SPEAKER_01 30:23

Yeah, they should try.

SPEAKER_03 30:25

Well, let's talk about for a minute. I want to shift gears here and I want to talk about mindset here for a minute with you. And since you just said that uh real estate is not a get rich quick scheme, I agree with you. No, but you also said on the other side of that coin, you can definitely build wealth and make really good money in real estate. So um I have uh every once in a while, I will thumb through social and I will see these inspiring bullet points, like you know, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:59

Um a meme.

SPEAKER_03 31:01

How to up your game in some way, shape, or form. So I've got one up here that I'm looking at right now. I'm gonna throw a couple points out at you, and I want you to tell me what comes to mind when you hear this. So this this is titled How to Develop a Millionaire Mindset. Okay, so this is like how I don't have that, honestly. People who win, you know, in business and in money and make lots of money and build wealth and things like that. This is supposed to be their mindset. Gotcha. Tell me if you agree or disagree. So here's number one. Uh, see wealth first in your mind, visualize future success. That's number one. If I agree or disagree, yeah. What do you think about it? Or or or talk to that point. Like, what do you think about it? I I heard the other day from a realtor, by the way. Okay. From a good realtor, from a top producing realtor that the human mind cannot tell the difference between reality and oh like what if your daydream is what they're yeah, it doesn't know. It it thinks it's real. So that's that's where I think that's where this comes from is visualizing uh yourself as wealthy would trick your mind into not knowing the difference between whether that's really then would that change your behavior? That would be of course it would. So yeah, it would change your behavior. What do you think about that?

SPEAKER_01 32:25

I don't focus on that stuff, but I can see, yeah. I mean, if you if you make a dream and you make a maybe a vision board or something like that, oh yeah, I think it's more than likely you'll get there. Yeah, because you're gonna make micro decisions all day long that are gonna steer you in that direction that way. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 32:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:47

Or maybe when you don't want to do something, you do it anyways.

SPEAKER_03 32:50

What what I like about that uh point is and and we were I was just talking about this with someone else today, where um another agent that you and I saw in passing coming in the door to the podcast studio uh was talking about how people will walk up and say she's lucky, and we were talking about and we were talking about I did hear that a lot too. Yeah, so so or must be nice. People like to say that must be nice, but you just said yeah, but you just said you said um you could see how if someone puts uh an image in front of themselves of where they want to go, what they want to do, they're probably gonna start changing behaviors, micro behaviors, is kind of what you said. Yeah, that could vary right to the very thing, right? I don't think it's magic. No, it's not luck, it's like but I think if I want to go to the ocean, must be nice, I will start doing things to plan, save, save money. I'm going to, I'm going there, whether I'm there or not, right? Yep. So I I so when I when when when when she said people walked up to me and say you're lucky, I think no, you just have habits and behaviors, yeah, and disciplines that you implement every day that get you have have or have gotten you from point A to point B. Would you agree with that?

SPEAKER_02 34:12

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 34:12

Tara? Okay, here's number two. Focus on what you consistently think about. Your brain finds what you focus on.

SPEAKER_01 34:20

Oh, yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_03 34:21

Focus on what you consistently think about.

SPEAKER_01 34:24

Yeah. Well, and not necessarily that, but I mean, you can go down a rabbit hole of being negative or being positive. Okay, so you can't do it.

SPEAKER_03 34:34

Which one are you gonna be in the other direction?

SPEAKER_01 34:36

Yeah. It's easier to be negative. But there are times or even where I do that a lot where I'll say, geez, you're really seeing a lot of negative stuff in your head today. Okay, so let's not do that.

SPEAKER_03 34:50

So here's here's the big point I really wanted to lead up to, and you just you just kind of led into it by what you just said. Here's here's the next one. Problems create opportunities.

SPEAKER_00 35:05

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 35:05

Well, if you Crisis can reveal hidden chances. That's what the subtitles problems create opportunities.

SPEAKER_01 35:14

So so yeah, they can't if you think of it that way.

SPEAKER_03 35:17

Yeah, I don't I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 35:18

But that's a way of thinking.

SPEAKER_03 35:20

You just said other people can bury themselves in problems, right?

SPEAKER_01 35:24

Right, or or whine and complain and blame everybody else, and you can keep doing that and follow that path, but it's just gonna make it worse. And we all I think we all know that.

SPEAKER_03 35:38

Have you have you had a moment in your life and in your career where you encountered a huge crisis that could very well bury someone? Yes, and but and that that crisis became a launch pad for something for like a beauty from ashes, like a silver lining.

SPEAKER_01 36:03

I really like to think it's a personality or who you are inherently, unfortunately. I think you can learn those things, so but I think not everybody's personality can do that.

SPEAKER_03 36:17

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 36:18

Um, I I mean, actually, and going back to some, you know, real estate subjects too, I I meet so many different people. I'm not sure there are a lot of businesses um like ours, careers like ours, where you're meeting so many different people in really heightened emotional moments of their life.

SPEAKER_03 36:41

Yeah. Which real estate purchases.

SPEAKER_01 36:44

Yeah, and it's not even necessarily that. Maybe they're going through a divorce, other things going.

SPEAKER_03 36:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 36:48

Maybe they're um getting married, maybe they just found out they're having a baby and they didn't expect to have to sell or job changes. So I have run into so many different personalities that I would like to say, and I I really I can read people really well pretty quickly. I'm not always right, obviously. Um, and I like to see the best in everybody, which is kind of to my detriment sometimes.

SPEAKER_03 37:17

Well, but that's a good trait, though, I think.

SPEAKER_01 37:19

And then the not nice tarot might come out. But, anyways, um I have a little, I have a fine line you don't want to cross sometimes, you know, like everybody. But um my point is I think a lot of it is who you are inherently. Like this is gonna sound really cheesy.

SPEAKER_02 37:38

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 37:39

But like what it what is your soul like?

SPEAKER_03 37:44

Like who you are as a person?

SPEAKER_01 37:45

Yeah, I don't even know how to describe it well, but it's really true. I mean, well, I'm gonna like who you are. 47. So I feel like I've had enough time to meet a lot of people, judge a lot of character. I'm not saying I'm perfect at all. I've had moments. But if you do run into a crisis of some kind, I almost said, and you're forced to deal with it, who you are is going to determine how you deal with it. And you can either choose to make it woe is me and wham wham.

SPEAKER_03 38:19

And I So you're kind of saying who you are is going to come out.

SPEAKER_01 38:24

Yeah, definitely.

SPEAKER_03 38:25

The crisis squeezes you out of the box. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 38:30

I had a really big crisis in 2020. The whole world was having a crisis.

SPEAKER_03 38:34

Um you had a bigger one.

SPEAKER_01 38:36

Well, yeah, um, I had both. So in January of 2020, I was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer. So TNBC, if you want to hashtag that, when I found the lump in my breast, it was stage 3C ultimately, which was really bad. That was January of 2020, and then the first week of March, the whole world was shutting down because of COVID. So when I started chemotherapy right away and all my other treatments, a lot of my good friends were there the first couple of you know times, and then we weren't allowed to bring anybody with us. And and I was still working. Right. Um but back to the diagnosis. So when uh I found the lump, I went in and had an ex, you know, a mammogram done. And get your mammogram done. If you are even like 35 to 40, pay for it out of pocket, especially triple negative breast cancer is a young person's breast cancer. It's below 40 years old. And mine had been growing for probably a couple years, they thought, maybe a year, because it's highly aggressive. But anyway, um, when I had the biopsy done that day, because I was very assertive, I made the doctor stay past hours and it did the biopsy. I had to wait till Monday or Tuesday to get the results. And I walked in to get the results because they said, No, we're not, we can't just give them to you. You have to meet with your oncologist first and he'll tell you. And I said, No, I will, I'm coming to the office and I'm gonna pick up my results. You're determined. So I walked in and um Ellen, my nurse, she's awesome. She's the one that found it, by the way. I love Ellen.

SPEAKER_02 40:23

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 40:23

She handed me an envelope like this, and she said, Whatever you do, do not Google this. And I'm like, okay, well, I'm gonna go home and Google. And at the time, my youngest, Claire, was oh my gosh, how old was she? Six. She was six at the time. And then my daughter, my oldest daughter was 16, and my son was 13. And I so I went home and Googled when they were all in bed. And the statistics for triple negative breast cancer, especially my stage and the grade of the tumor that was on the pathology report, said I wasn't gonna survive past five years, and I'm here. So it was very it was very hard. But I worked the entire time. You did and I did.

SPEAKER_03 41:22

No, I know you did. Yeah, I'm saying you did. I worked the whole time. I know that. I remember um I was there.

SPEAKER_01 41:28

Every year I, you know, I had more and more clients, which was good.

SPEAKER_03 41:32

Right?

SPEAKER_01 41:32

And it's yeah, I've been in remission for five years now.

SPEAKER_03 41:36

Cancer free.

unknown 41:38

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 41:38

Right.

SPEAKER_01 41:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 41:39

It's awesome.

SPEAKER_01 41:40

I mean, that's what we say.

unknown 41:41

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 41:41

I don't think I I don't think I remember a time, Tara, where you changed. Like I don't remember you just taking that crisis and like you know, blowing up on everyone else over it, you know, or taking your I had my own moments by myself. Um, and you just kept going. Yeah. You kept doing real estate, and you kept doing what you do good, and I I just don't even remember any break in inconsistency with you. With who you are. I think when that squeezed you, you were the same Tara that I've always known.

SPEAKER_01 42:21

Thanks. There have been a lot of other times in my life before that where you know, I've had to settle in the fact that something is hard, or I don't have parents around, or I don't, you know, um, or I had to go through a divorce I didn't want to go through and you know, have two little ones by myself. So there are a lot of things, or my my mom died when I was five.

SPEAKER_03 42:48

You have a lot of people. So my whole life crisis.

SPEAKER_01 42:51

Yeah. I've just um well, first of all, I know that I've never been alone, even though I'm physically alone, which sounds really corny again, but I don't really care because it's true. So I know that God has always been with me. I mean, I just and nobody took me to church. I wasn't I didn't go to church growing up. It wasn't like that. My parents never took us to church, but I don't I didn't know what it was, but I knew I wasn't by myself from when I was little on after losing your your mom. After losing my mom. Yeah, and my dad worked a lot, and um he remarried a year later and he was kind of disconnected. Um I'm sure. Yeah, I mean, who wouldn't be? So I've had to learn to be resilient, yeah. Resilient for forcibly most of the time.

SPEAKER_03 43:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 43:46

So back to the real estate part of So you think that's the good part?

SPEAKER_03 43:50

I mean, not there's nothing good about a crisis, but good can come out of it. Oh, I've thought about all the tiny little things about you think that being resilient and things of those kinds of Traits are what have come out of this, or have has there been other things that are in the world? Oh, there's a I mean this can go silver lining the silver ways.

SPEAKER_01 44:11

In real estate, I I I do get frustrated with other people sometimes because I don't know people well that I work with until I go down the line with them. But I get frustrated a l uh oftentimes because things that are such a big deal to some people to me is silly. Aren't to others. Yeah, and I and in the big scheme of things, I just I can't wrap my head around it. So I do try to have patience with that, but on the other hand, I just I don't have patience for that. Um while I'm still gonna have a client's back, I I just sometimes that frustrates me because we're not we might not be here tomorrow. Not to sound cheesy for the third time.

SPEAKER_03 45:01

But everybody loves your cheesy comments, Mara. It's gonna be we're gonna call this the cheese episode. Good. Oh, good.

SPEAKER_01 45:09

No, we're not gonna be Brie cheese. I love Brie is my favorite.

SPEAKER_03 45:12

Um listen, we gotta take a real quick break for a second. Thank uh a sponsor, Daniel Keely and Hunter over at Keely Roofing. Uh, they are one of the Mortgage Punk show sponsors. I love Keely Roofing for sure. They do a great job, don't they? Yep. Uh roof, roof issues are never fun, uh, but they don't have to be stressful. And Daniel Hunter and their team over there at Keely Roofing are the people I trust. And I'm not just saying that, I'm serious, when it comes to protecting your home from the top down.

SPEAKER_01 45:42

They work really well with insurance companies too.

SPEAKER_03 45:44

Yeah. They just have a they do a they're just quality. Warranty. Daniel runs a quality.

SPEAKER_01 45:50

Lots of issues that a lot of root roofers don't bother to deal with, that they do deal with really well. Yep.

SPEAKER_03 45:56

So if you've got storm damage, repairs that you need, full replacements, they're going to be honest, responsive, and they know how to work with insurance. Oh, yeah. Just like uh Tara was mentioning here. So your roof is first line of defense. So call, uh, actually reach out to Hunter. That's who you'd want to call with Keeley Roofing and tell them that Chris from the Morg Punk Show sent you. If you need to have your roof checked out, if you have not had your roof looked at in over a year, I would just call them and have them come look at it. Don't quote me on this, but I don't think they charge anything just to come look at your roof and then go from there. So, but but just call Hunter and ask him. And then if I'm wrong, then you can tell him to come get you on the time. So, all right, thanks, Keely Roofing. Love you guys. You're you're the best. Um, all right, back to our uh our our problems create opportunities. So you do agree with that statement. Yep. I and I think what they're they're getting at is people who achieve those levels of of success don't let problems bury them, they see them the other way.

SPEAKER_01 47:01

Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_03 47:02

They see them as opportunities.

SPEAKER_01 47:03

Yeah, that's exactly right.

SPEAKER_03 47:05

Like I and don't it's cool the stuff you can come up with if you look at it that way. Well, it's it isn't. Don't you think that those become like the best story? I mean, those become like the David Goliath stories. Yes, right? Like, oh my goodness, you almost lost everything.

SPEAKER_01 47:21

I'm kind of stubborn. Boom. Yeah, I'm really stubborn. Sometimes God will throw stuff at me and I'm like, oh, I don't see that. And then he's like, all right, well, here's something else.

SPEAKER_03 47:32

Yeah. Yeah, you have gone through.

SPEAKER_01 47:34

And then in hindsight, you can see, oh, I'm so glad that happened.

SPEAKER_03 47:38

If you if you could say, and this might sound crazy, but if you could say, I don't wish that I've gone through the things I've gone through that are very hard and trying in life. But on the other hand, I'm actually glad in a sense because it did what? It did this for me. It made me this way. Well, I try to be. If I hadn't gone through that, I wouldn't be here. You know, what what is it for you?

SPEAKER_01 48:07

I'm not letting you finish your questions. Sorry. Um, well, I already know the answer to that is paying attention to what's happening right now, which is really hard to do. It's still hard, even when you're thinking about it constantly, because I'm constantly thinking about it. I'm constantly thinking, God, I didn't even do that much today. I didn't hang out with Claire enough today, or I was mean to Jeff. I um I'm constantly thinking, I wasted today. How can I not do that? Or the next day I'll I'll be like, okay, it's a new day. I'm going to do better today because time is so short.

SPEAKER_03 48:52

So so it's made it's made you like appreciate and value every moment of every day.

SPEAKER_01 49:00

I'm always analyzing what did I get done today and not productive.

SPEAKER_03 49:03

And like make it count necessarily-wise. Yeah, spend time with my friends. Husband. Yeah. So that's what if you can look back and say, I don't wish this on anyone, but it it's changed my life.

SPEAKER_01 49:17

Yeah, it kind of narrows your your thoughts. Like I I put way more intention on taking trips with my friends, like road trips or things like that, or um apologizing faster. I've thought about things I did that I don't necessarily like back when I was in my late teens or early twenties. You know, uh, and you analyze your whole life and you want to go um back and think about those things that still bother you and maybe make amends, or um also do things differently now. I just heard yesterday, I wish I hadn't seen it on Facebook because it was kind of frustrating. But it was somebody saying how someone who's like 60 years old is already 75% done with their life. And I was like, okay, I really don't want to live like that. I don't want to know that. I don't want to look at it that way. Um, but I know all too well that you can just go to the doctor one day and and then you ever live the next two or three years thinking you're almost done. That's crazy, Tara.

SPEAKER_03 50:38

So sorry you had to go through that. It's okay.

SPEAKER_01 50:40

Um there's people with way worse.

SPEAKER_03 50:42

Bounced right back, that's for sure. It makes me think of that Mike Tyson quote. Have you heard the Mike Tyson quote?

SPEAKER_01 50:48

Maybe.

SPEAKER_03 50:49

Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.

SPEAKER_01 50:54

No.

SPEAKER_03 50:54

Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.

SPEAKER_01 50:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 50:57

How how how could you how could you help the listeners of this episode? You these moments of crisis, trial, whatever you want to call them in life. Um I don't think you can I I don't I don't think you can entirely prepare and plan for them.

SPEAKER_01 51:19

Totally not. You cannot. But you will not, and you'll always have to do that.

SPEAKER_03 51:23

Is there anything you can do? Is there anything you can do? Change your mindset. Or is there not? And you it just when it happens, you hope for the best. I I don't know. What would you hope for the best? Okay.

SPEAKER_01 51:34

You have to be positive.

SPEAKER_03 51:37

So you change your mindset.

SPEAKER_01 51:38

Yeah. Uh physiologically, it's important too. If it was a medical crisis, that's important. And I'm not saying you can save your life by being being positive, but it's a big part of it.

SPEAKER_03 51:50

How do you be positive in a negative crisis? What do you do?

SPEAKER_01 51:54

Do you have anything that you do that helps you any uh I use a lot of my experiences to put it into perspective. Um, maybe if you haven't been through something big, which sometimes I wonder when people are nasty or uh obsessed with some tiny little problem. I always say to Jeff, apparently they've never been through anything. You know, and that must be nice.

SPEAKER_03 52:19

I see what you're saying. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 52:20

You know, uh is that put it in perspective or think about someone you know who's who has been through something big if you haven't.

SPEAKER_02 52:28

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 52:29

And say, is this really worth like completely stressing out over or ruining your whole day over or being nasty to somebody over? No.

SPEAKER_03 52:40

I don't think I've I don't think we've talked about this. I uh this is probably gonna be called the vulnerab vulnerability episode.

SPEAKER_00 52:47

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 52:47

Because I don't think we've I don't think I've had an in-depth conversation, but I'm glad I have, and here's why. Because if you're watching and you're a business owner or you're an entrepreneur, you're interested in something like that, or you're a real estate agent, which I would call you an entrepreneur. Oh, yeah, and a business owner, um, these are things like real things that I'm glad we're talking about because you're gonna it's like Tara said, you're gonna get knocked around. You go into real estate a lot, you go into business, you're gonna get knocked around. You're gonna be, you know, I was just blown away by I was watching uh over the the Christmas break. Me and my family rewatched um one of our favorite movies, uh The Christmas story? No, The Greatest Showman. Well, that's not a Christmas movie. That's not a Christmas movie, but but we love the greatest showman. I do.

SPEAKER_01 53:33

The music is awesome.

SPEAKER_03 53:34

It's fantastic, but do you know, like me and Keisha were reading? Actually, it really was more Keisha because she always looks back at the history of everything. Yeah, so she looks back at the history. Did you know that the uh founder of the Ringling Brothers Armin Bailey Circus, do you do you that that movie is, you know, uh loosely based on the true story? Loosely based on. Do you know that he he had not one fire that burned his circus thing down? There was two. They rebuilt it, it burned down again. Oh lord. And what really blows my mind, this is my favorite part of the The Greatest Showman. So if anyone is watching this episode, you you love the greatest showman. Here's my favorite part. My favorite part is at the very end, when everything has been burnt to the flipping ground, it literally catapulted him into the tent idea. And look at what that did.

SPEAKER_00 54:28

Yeah. Yep, that's a circus. Everywhere. Yep.

SPEAKER_03 54:31

And that is the circus. And it just blows my mind how you could be, if I was him or someone else in that position, could be watching your business burn to the ground. Would you ever stop and think this is the best thing that's ever happened? Because now it's gonna take my circus and make it worldwide. It's crazy.

SPEAKER_02 54:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 54:55

It's like a beauty from ashes.

unknown 54:57

Total.

SPEAKER_02 54:58

Literally, yes.

SPEAKER_03 54:59

So I'm glad we're talking about this here, and I appreciate you taking a minute to be be more vulnerable, share some of your pain because that's business. I think business is full. Well, and you know, knocked around, losing, winning, losing again, losing again, winning.

SPEAKER_01 55:18

I mean, it's not yeah, uh, real estate is definitely a roller coaster.

SPEAKER_03 55:22

It's not an easy ride.

SPEAKER_01 55:24

What I was gonna say is you know me, like the business part of real estate. I always say to you, I'm not I'm not good at the business part. The business I do I'm good at, but you may you always like to ask me along the ear, what's your production so far? I have no idea. Yeah, I literally have no idea. I don't care to, or my broker will say, Let's meet up and make a goal for what do you want to do for the next I am I'm busy. Like I'm just doing my job. I you know me, I don't keep track of that stuff. And I love that because there are realtors who are awesome at the business side. Bobby Lane, I wish I wish I could be like that. I'm just not.

SPEAKER_03 56:09

It's not Jeff's moral how I am. Jeff Jeff is the one that mentality, right?

SPEAKER_01 56:14

He likes statistics and metrics, yes, and measuring things and what if this. And I'm like, I don't know. I'm dealing with the people and I'm writing cards. That's what I that's what I'm doing. And I'm keeping track of the business in that way. I just I wish I could be more um building something really big, you know, like Bobby Lane is doing, but I just am not. I I like to spend a lot of time doing my hobbies too. So I do a lot of that stuff on the side.

SPEAKER_03 56:50

You kind of got to decide what you want to do. And kind of like that. You know, envision where you want to go and just do what you want to do what you want to do, whatever that is. You want to build an empire, build an empire. You want to build a house, build a house.

SPEAKER_01 57:03

Right.

SPEAKER_03 57:03

Whatever. There's no right or wrong. No, you know. Um, I need to do one more, one last shout-out to one more sponsor before we close the show. That sponsor would be uh TW Custom Homes. Uh, I want to thank Travis uh over at TW Custom Homes for sponsoring the show. Uh, if you are in the market to build, you want to build a new home, you want to build a new development, or you want to build out in a field somewhere with five acres or on 10 acres, and um you want to work with a builder that is uh a go-getter and that uh can build anything from traditional homes to very modern home styles. Um, Travis is definitely uh a great builder in the market to work with um on building your next home. So uh for uh more info, just holler at Travis. Tell him Chris from the the March Punk Show sent you. And Travis, thanks for sponsoring the show. Okay, how are we gonna end this episode, this is like like mega heavy. This is like mega heavy episode.

SPEAKER_00 58:03

Did I talk about real estate?

SPEAKER_03 58:05

Spin in a light note or or spin it off into some sort of a light note. Maybe another episode.

SPEAKER_01 58:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 58:15

Um what's your what is your if you could give everyone watching this episode, whether they're a realtor or not a realtor, a piece of terra advice about anything. Anything it can be a popcorn and rainbows or real estate and housing or why Jeff likes metrics and it drives you nuts.

SPEAKER_01 58:37

I don't know what I think the world today is just moving way too fast. I think everybody needs to slow down and not take everything so seriously. That's it.

SPEAKER_03 58:49

I love it. Yeah, that's good. Be resilient, bounce back.

SPEAKER_01 58:53

I'll still be doing real estate.

SPEAKER_03 58:55

Tara will be doing real estate.

SPEAKER_01 58:57

Pro real estate on that note.

SPEAKER_03 58:58

She will be doing real estate, and I will still be uh bugging her and hanging out with her and her husband Jeff, who is the other part of her real estate operation.

SPEAKER_01 59:07

Yes, and Ian, don't forget Ian.

SPEAKER_03 59:09

And Ian, yep. Yeah, uh so anyhow, uh Tara, thanks for being on the Mortgage Punk Show. Thanks for having me. Thanks for sharing your story. I love your story, I love your heart, love your family, I love your business, and you care about people. Yes, definitely. You have never changed throughout some serious and heavy trials. And I appreciate you. Thanks.

SPEAKER_01 59:32

Yep, thanks for watching. Thanks for being on the show.

SPEAKER_03 59:34

Yeah, uh, thanks for watching the Morg Punk Show. Uh stay tuned. We'll have another great guest next time. And uh, I'm gonna be rolling out a solo episode of just moi talking about stuff. Surprise. Surprise. So stay tuned for more of that. Thanks for watching the show. Uh, I'm Chris with Morg Punk Out.