Say Yes to the Conversation: It Might Change Everything

What if the biggest opportunities in your life are the ones you’re currently saying no to?

In this episode of the We Attitude Podcast, David sits down with Dawn Krause to unpack a journey that started out of pure necessity—raising three kids under two—and turned into building businesses, leading multiple market centers, and impacting thousands of lives.

But this isn’t just a real estate story…

This is about:

•  The power of saying yes to the right conversations
•  Why most people stay stuck (and don’t even realize it) 
•  How to shift from doing everything to building through others 
•  And the hard leadership lessons no one talks about 

From personal adversity to business breakthroughs, this conversation is packed with real, raw moments and practical takeaways you can apply immediately.

If you’ve been playing it safe… this might be the conversation you need to hear.

 KEY TAKEAWAYS

•  Why saying yes to the right conversations can change everything 
•  The difference between having a job vs becoming a business owner 
•  How partnerships actually work (and why most fail) 
•  The hidden danger of being “too successful” too early 
•  Why feedback is the fastest path to growth 

WHO THIS IS FOR

•  Real estate agents looking to grow or scale 
•  Entrepreneurs stuck in the “doing everything” phase 
•  Leaders building teams or partnerships 
•  Anyone feeling like they’re capable of more 
  
  

CHAPTERS
00:00 – Intro: The Power of “We Attitude”
 00:20 – From Therapist to Real Estate (Unexpected Start)
 01:20 – 3 Kids Under 2… The Turning Point
 02:10 – From Sales to Leadership & Building Market Centers
 04:00 – The Shift From Hustling to Building a Real Business
 05:30 – Why You Should Be the “Dumbest Person in the Room”
 07:00 – Transferable Skills That Create Massive Success
 10:00 – Scaling Impact: From 100 Clients to Thousands
 11:45 – The Reality of Balance (And the Truth No One Says)
 12:30 – Raising Kids With Autism & Perspective Shift
 15:00 – Why Helping Others Changes Everything
 16:20 – Say Yes to the Conversation (Game-Changing Principle)
 17:30 – Stop Listening to the Wrong People
 18:00 – “God Winks” & Recognizing Opportunity
 20:30 – Growth in the Last 5 Years (What Actually Worked)
 21:30 – Why Most Partnerships Fail (And How to Win)
 23:00 – The Rule That Saved Their Partnership
 24:30 – Hard Conversations & Radical Honesty
 26:45 – How to Ask for (and Handle) Feedback
 28:30 – Advice to Younger Self: Stop Chasing Outcomes
 31:00 – Why Process > Results Every Time
 32:30 – Final Advice: Stay Humble

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:06

Welcome back to the We Attitude Podcast. I'm here today with Don Krause, who certainly exemplify uh this kind of attitude uh with the journey that you've had in real estate. I've known you for uh a long time now. Long time. Um, like 2010-ish, I think. Oh, nine is when I came to KW. Okay. All right. So, so uh wow, that's a long time. Yep. Okay. So um, well, I'm let's start same place I started everybody. Like just give us a quick rundown of you know where you are today, how long you've been in real estate, okay, what got you in real estate, maybe like just kind of a quick uh a quick bio, if you will.

SPEAKER_01 0:47

Okay. So I've been in real estate for 25 years. This was a second profession for me. So um in my previous life, I was a therapist. So I was gonna save the world and started doing it, loved it. And that wasn't much of a transition. LLS why the transition was a little bit different, but not what I do day to day. Okay. So um I loved what I did helping people. I did not love the hours and the pay that came in being a therapist. So um several life events happened, and the biggest one that moved me into real estate was um I had a 14-month-old and was gonna try for one more. And then all of a sudden, God said, Ha ha ha, let there be twins. Uh-huh. And um realized that I was gonna have three babies in under two years. And after I cried for two straight months, and they were not tears of joy, they were tears of, oh my God, how am I gonna do this? Um, my husband had said, Why don't you get your real estate license? You're really good with people. If you sell one house a month, we'll be fine. So I was supposed to be on bed rest with the twins, pregnant out to here, and instead sat real estate school, got my license, and just started going. Never had any intention of building a real big real estate business. It was really just out of necessity.

SPEAKER_00 1:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:58

So that's how it all started. I was with a traditional brokerage for eight years, and then January of 09 came to Keller Williams, so 17 years ago. Wow. Yes, and um had a big team here in St. Louis at the time. And I um within a year, so 2010 is when I got into market center leadership. So been in leadership for 16 years, and that journey has been one. Speaking of the we attitude, it is 100% all about the we approach to life. Um, that took me not only from just getting into real estate, building a team, but then also moving really into leadership much beyond just the team structure. So I'm an investor in three KW offices. I launched two of them. One I launched 15 years ago with an incredible group, and another one I launched six years ago with a wonderful team over in O'Fallon, Illinois. Um, and still in leadership in both of those market centers and blessed to continue to get to stretch myself every day with incredible partners. Then in addition to market center leadership, I moved into so I've done regional leadership and also now I was the head of growth for Livian, which was a platform that was owned by Keller Williams. I did that for three years and then Place purchased Livian about a year and a half ago and moved into leadership with Place. So that is my I'm tired. That is my quick 25 year dead reps right now.

SPEAKER_02 3:27

Since you skipped it, I won't I won't do it. Uh so so all right, so let's just back up a little bit. So you joined Cal Williams in 09, you said all right. So so what was your business at the time? Like what wouldn't that look like? Uh the structure? Yeah, the structure, like um, you know, uh I know you were well past the one deal of a a month. So what uh what uh what yeah, what what was the structure?

SPEAKER_01 3:59

What how how would why I moved to KW. So um so I was with a company called Prudential Slick Properties, which is now Berkshire. Um there were five offices here in St. Louis, and I was the number two agent in that company. And so I was really, really comfortable. Yeah, and I had a team, which I would now in retrospect say was a hot mess. However, that's how many people start teams is just like bring on warm bodies out of necessity. Yeah. And um, there was this team leader at Keller Williams that kept calling me. And I finally said, I will meet with you if you will stop calling me. Yeah. So that's how it started. And she introduced me to the millionaire real estate agent book. Uh-huh. And I started coming to KW trainings. I went to Mega Camp and went, wow, there actually is a more structured way that I can be building this business. So that is what actually made me move to KW was that there was a model and a system in place on how to do what I had been haphazardly. I've been having success with no intentionality around it. So then thought, gosh, what could it look like if I actually had the structure?

SPEAKER_02 5:03

So you were working really hard to be successful. Correct. And then joining CalWims gave you more of a structured environment to then work more like smart, like more intelligently, or more with a purpose of it. Is that fair?

SPEAKER_01 5:19

It it really, David, what I did was I I got much more intentional about moving from be having a job to being a business owner. Yeah. And if one is going to be a if one makes the choice to be a business owner, one is making the choice to not rely solely on being a doer, right? Moving towards being a leader. In order to be a leader, one has to really grow those leadership skills if we want to succeed in partnering with the right people and succeeding through them.

SPEAKER_02 5:44

So at the time, when you so once you see the model or once you see a path, and then you've you you realize, all right, well, now I have to grow. What um what are some of the things you tackled first and how did you feel about having to do that? Were you like, yeah, this is awesome. I get to be uncomfortable for a while. Are you like, holy shit, I have to do this?

SPEAKER_01 6:06

What what were like walk me through that thought process? Okay. So I quickly realized that the best place that I could be was the dumbest person in the room. Yeah. Okay. Love it. So sometimes people want to be the smartest because that feeds their ego. However, it actually keeps them in a limited place from a gross standpoint. So I was very intentional around. Um, I went to so many trainings. I've I've almost lost track of how many times I've been to the leverage series and all of the trainings around that. Um, and I do say one of the greatest gifts that Keller Williams ever gave me was it was called Recruit Select, and now the Leverage Series, Career Visioning, because it's all about how to get in business with the right people and then how to succeed through them. Yeah. So um that comes with getting uncomfortable because it's learning new. And then I was very intentional around looking to be in relationship with people that I knew could stretch me. And some of the the best leaders I've ever had over the last 17 years are the ones that really kicked my ass. Yeah. Like big time. Yeah. And I'm so grateful for it. For sure.

SPEAKER_02 7:16

So you said uh prior to real estate, you were a therapist. Yes. What skills that did you learn or did you have in in that world that that have translated to this world?

SPEAKER_01 7:31

I love that you just asked that question. When I am doing, so I'll answer it. And when I am doing recruit appointments, which by the way, now after basically being a different version of a recruiter for the last 16 years, I've done probably close to about 7,000 recruit appointments. Yeah. And one of the things I'm I'm very purposeful in asking in every one of them as I'm getting to know someone is what did you do before real estate? Right. And I always look, I always ask that question because there are so many potentially transferable skills and characteristics and trends that we see. And so many people just go, David, what's your business? Yeah. Yet could someone's previous world translate into more success if they had the right people in their world, had the right Wii's around them? Yeah. So what skill set? So um empathy, yeah, question asking, listening, um, mirror and matching, and knowing how to ask challenging questions in a way that does that keeps up that in a way that actually one of the most important things, as you know, in partnership is taking down the walls that many of us naturally have, whether we admit it or not. Sure. Because when we become more transparent with people, that's how we can really make sure we're complementing those that we may be potential partners with. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 8:46

And did you realize as as you already had those skills? So when you went through recruit select, career visioning, those I would say some of the core classes that we have from a leadership perspective.

SPEAKER_01 8:57

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 8:58

Uh here at Cal Williams, like did you did you realize how much this was going to translate to your future business or or I didn't know were you aware of it or did you come at realize it at first.

SPEAKER_01 9:10

In fact, um, I went, gosh, why did I spend all of that time and money going to school after school after school to realize that I'm got in getting into real estate that I don't need any of those degrees that I have, and then quickly realize that this is just a relationship business. Yeah. Being a therapist is a relationship business. It's getting people to trust you so that they will partner with you in whatever area that it is. Yeah. And so I quickly realized, although I did not intentionally, I quickly realized that, oh, hey, maybe all those years of schooling actually did translate well. And the years of schooling are great, but it's really the real life, yeah, where one learns how to succeed through others and partner quickly.

SPEAKER_02 9:51

Can only experience so much from the book. Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_01 9:53

That's right.

SPEAKER_02 9:53

Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, all right. So you move over, you you familiarize yourself with the MREA, recruit select at the time, all this stuff. How how did you start? How quick did you start implementing some of this stuff and and what what did it do to your business?

SPEAKER_01 10:09

And and I implemented MREA pretty quickly. Like within the first year of me being here, I implemented. And of course, which is kind of status quo for me, I never just do one thing at any time. So I was not even here a year and heard that this guy named John was coming to St. Louis to open another market center. And I said, Well, I want to be a part of that.

SPEAKER_00 10:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:28

And he said, Well, show me you have influence. And I said, How do I do that? And he said, Get me appointments with top agents so we can talk to him about opening a market center. I went, Okay.

SPEAKER_00 10:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:36

So then started down. So I tend to add more things to my plate as I continue to grow, which is is a common affliction of people who do a lot of things is they get bored. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 10:47

Yeah. I was just, I was just gonna ask, is that part of it? Like you just get bored and you need something else, or I love to build.

SPEAKER_01 10:53

Yeah. Yeah. I love to build. And David, one of the reasons why I moved from um from just doing production and growing the team to leadership is because what I realized, I mean, you know, my background is helping people. Yeah. I realized if I'm selling a hundred homes a year, I get to help a hundred people. Right. If I move into the recruiting w realm and I get into business with people who are doing 10, 15, 50, 100 transactions themselves, like the potential for impact is exponential. For sure. And so that desire to build and that desire to help more and more people is kind of creates this insatiable appetite in me that I just had to keep feeding, much to probably my family's chagrin over the years. Um, and every time I would embark on a new endeavor, I feel like I learned some. I fell on my face hard. And those can be some of the best learning experiences as well.

SPEAKER_02 11:47

Yeah, for sure. So you you mentioned we started with three kids on their two. Yeah. So you you've built a huge business. So how did you a lot of times I hear this, right? Like, like balance is this like myth out there that everyone is chasing to an extent. So so how did how did you find the the ability to navigate through this while while you know obviously being the mom that you are and all that?

SPEAKER_01 12:14

So partnering with the right people was a really big part of it. Yeah, it was a very big part of it. Now, if I was not if I I will be totally honest and transparent, did I always do it well from the the personal life standpoint? Absolutely not. Sure. And you know my story, but the the twins were a huge surprise 25 years ago when I found out I was having them. And then three years later, the the actual bigger surprise came when both of my twins were diagnosed with autism. And so that opened up a whole nother, like, oh my gosh, like, where's the parenting book that says, Oh, here's how to have three kids under two years, and B, have two of them with special needs. Yeah. I remember I I have still yet to find that book. Right. That became much more life experience. Right. So um finding that balance was very, very challenging. I became for the first couple years after the twins got diagnosed, I was in what I would probably call not denial, because I was very um open about the fact that the twins were autistic, but I didn't know what to do with it. Right. So I spent a lot of time apologizing for what I call their quirks or their their their odysseys, their oddities that made other people f people feel uncomfortable. Sure. Like stimming and that sort of thing. Yeah. And when the twins were five, I don't even remember what it was, but something triggered in me that said, Oh my gosh, I am never going to apologize for these boys again. They are the greatest gift that God could have ever given me. That's all. Talk about being able to look at life through a lens that is not what I had originally anticipated. And of course, my daughter is two years older than the twins. So I then became a really huge um advocate for inclusion, for early, um, early detection in education through ownership and just embracing when you have loved ones with special abilities. And that actually opened up a whole nother world from a with zero intention of doing this. It became how do I best help my children and those who have loved ones that have special abilities. Right. Well, what that translated to was a whole nother avenue in opening up my business because I became very connected with um different organizations like Best Buddy, which is an international organization for inclusion for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Um, it allowed me to really connect with people in crowds in a very different way. I love, I love teaching, I love sharing, I love giving back. And I typically end up in some way, shape, or form when I'm in front of a room incorporating my why or incorporating kind of my backstory to help people understand that there are paths for support when you have loved ones. And typically when I'm in a good size room, by the time I'm done kind of telling that story, there's usually about 25% of the room that is either in tears or comes up to me afterwards and said, Oh my God, my daughter, my grandson, my whomever, I didn't realize there were these other avenues for help and support. So it became another way for me to help more people and also say there is nothing in your world that is holding you back from succeeding besides your mindset and who you surround yourself with.

SPEAKER_02 15:22

Amen. And it's interesting because uh as I'm listening to this, it's like you said earlier, right? Like you you you want to help and build.

SPEAKER_01 15:30

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 15:30

And I feel like that's really your business. Real estate is just the product. Absolutely. But whether it was to come to terms when the boys were five and then you start helping, like it opened up a whole different. So I feel like it sounds to me like like it's kind of a note to self, I guess. Like if you get stuck, I need to find a way for you to help somebody else. Yes, right. I mean, I feel like it that's what that's what drives everything. Like, I feel like if if you get uncomfortable while helping, you won't be uncomfortable. That's right, right? Absolutely. Yeah, that's awesome. So, so so as you're building the team, uh, you've built market centers, you have leadership opportunity within the market centers, um, all this stuff. So, what are some of the biggest leadership lessons you've encountered? Like, what are things that you're like, this this was a great aha moment that that you know, I need to keep this in my back pocket and be able to share this with others or teach like what are some teachable moments along the journey that that that you've experienced that spoke to you?

SPEAKER_01 16:32

Two that jump out to me after you ask that question. One is say yes to the conversation. Oh, I love it. Let me explain what I mean by that. So many people go, I'm too busy, I don't have time, I don't need that. And they just shut off whatever it is. Now, no one has time to say yes to all conversations. It is be open to everything, question everything, be willing to say, um, be willing to say, you know what, I've got this, this, and this that seems to be going right. Maybe there is a better way out there. And if you don't have the conversation, you don't know. Yeah. So the second lesson that I would say uh to coupled with to couple with say yes to the conversation is um as one uh looks at growing and is committed to growth and has success in doing so, there's going to be more and more naysayers around them.

SPEAKER_00 17:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:23

You don't need that. David, don't do that. It's a waste of your time. You're already so successful, this is ridiculous.

SPEAKER_00 17:30

No idea.

SPEAKER_01 17:31

One of the greatest uh um pieces of advice that I got from a previous leader was the more successful you get, the more people will be around you saying you don't need to do it. The first thing you should do is go to their track record. And if they have not done at least what you have done, if not more, why in the world would you ever listen to them?

SPEAKER_00 17:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:50

So that's lesson number two. Now take that back to lesson number one, which is say yes to the conversation. Who's asking for the conversation? What is their track record? Does it seem to be like that person has had success? I would be remiss to not go sit down with that person and learn something. There is a book that I was introduced to probably seven or eight years ago now, and it's called When God Winks At You. And it's a book about coincidences. Okay. And it says, most of us go through life and go, oh, that's a coincidence. 75% of the time, people just do that and move right on. If they were to slow down and go, is there a reason why that coincidence came into my life? How many more doors could be opened for us?

SPEAKER_00 18:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:31

Here's the thing to understand about and and the the when God winks at you, it's a really it's a small, thin book, and it is one of the best books I've ever been introduced to because it also gives perspective on the fact that a God wink can be positive in the moment and it can be what appears to be negative in the moment.

SPEAKER_02 18:47

Appears probably appears to be, right?

SPEAKER_01 18:49

Like when my twins were diagnosed with autism, I thought, oh my gosh, this is, I mean, literally, this is gonna sound so drama. However, this is exactly what happened. The first one was diagnosed, um, and then about three or four months later, the second one was diagnosed. And when we got home from the pediatric neurologist for the second twin, I literally fell to my kitchen floor and screamed at God and said, Why did you do this to me? And I cried and I yelled and I was mad and all of that. Yeah. So um, and that's literally what happened. So at the time, I felt like my life was over. How am I gonna do this? Yeah, everything's derailed. Yet the greatest gift God could have ever given me. Yeah. So when something even horrible happens in our life, yeah, that too could be a god way. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 19:31

The ability to reframe things is not something that is as common as it should be. Yes, that's for sure. Yeah, it's funny. I listened to this, and my sister is blessed with identical twins who are healthy. And I remember when she found out she was having twins, and um she actually called me crying, and I'm like, Well, why are you crying? Because I think it was around the first time she had her uh first ultrasound or whatever that she found out there was two, and uh, she's bawling on her phone. So I'm thinking something happened, like maybe the pregnancy end or something. Yeah, I'm like, What are you the fuck's going on here? Why are you crying like this? She goes, There's two, and I'm like, Well, at least you got seven months to figure it out.

SPEAKER_01 20:13

There's her early early detection.

SPEAKER_02 20:16

So she didn't think it was that funny, but anyway, nine, ten years later now, I guess everybody's good. So, but but it's it's in it's for sure a curveball, I would assume. That's right. Yeah. Okay. So so fast forward to kind of today, the last five years, we'll go like post-pandemic, if you will. Okay. Um, you you've done a lot of stuff. You you were with Libyan for a bit, now you you're with place. Yeah. Um, what what's the last five years have been from a growth perspective and a business perspective? Because the interesting thing to me as I look is you've you've grown a ton, but yet there's really nothing from a industry or market perspective that would suggest that people should have grown to the extent you have over the last few years, right? So, so what have you done differently? What was the approach? Um, tell us how how that last five years, I guess, uh David.

SPEAKER_01 21:08

I would say the the the key to answering that question is the people with whom I've been blessed to get into business. So my business partner is Tom Basler. We brought our businesses together 10 and a half years ago, and when we did, literally everyone said, don't do it.

SPEAKER_02 21:24

I was just gonna about to say, you just mentioned Naysay earlier, and I remember when you guys did that. And and partnerships are not known to be successful really in our industry, right? There's very few that I know of. You you guys are one of them. Um, so so that's actually uh uh now that you mention it, like like how'd you guys kind of power through it? Because you're right.

SPEAKER_01 21:43

I remember like just saying gonna work, like what's happening, like like some of the best of the best in this industry, yeah, who have been leaders in the who said don't do it, it doesn't work. Yeah. Um, and and I and and there are so there are a multitude of of carnage um In a path of those who have attempted, and it didn't work. So why has mine and Tom's partnership been so successful? So, first of all, you know my background. Tom's an engineer by nature. I understand. So yeah, he was an engineer before he got into real estate. So very different. Very much so. Love you, Tom. A lot of things are flicking, but I got it. It's why we're great partners, is because our personalities are very different. Yeah. Yet our values and our hearts and the way we think about things are very, very aligned. Right. And that was really important. So depending on what what the missing who is in someone's world, sometimes it is someone who is very opposite of who you are when we tend to be attracted naturally to those who are like us. Sure. So um so getting in business with Tom 10 and a half years ago was a major game changer because he be we became the yin to each other's yangs. Yeah. And part of our success is our ability to be very honest with each other. First of all, we have lanes. Like his lane, we we do not parallel play next to one another. His lane is this, my lane is this, and we've been very clear about that. Secondly, we had a coach shortly after we partnered that said to us, because we were kind of doing that like, you know, the first year to two years together, like, well, I did more of this one, and I did one of the reasons partnerships don't work out is because the minute that someone feels like I'm doing 51% and you're 49, like this doesn't work. That's right. So we just so our coach came to us after we were both kind of having some like, hey, what about? And he said, You guys partnered together because you said you trusted each other, correct? Yes. He said, then you have to stop keeping track. Yeah, just start trusting. You you guys trusted each other, which is why you partnered. If you continue to keep track, this is never going to work. You have to have faith that when you do your thing, he does his thing, that it is going to pan out in the end. And that is, and and we embraced that. What a great and we stopped and we stopped tallying from that day on. Yeah, yeah. So that's a really, really big important part. Um, and David, we have had some really hard, direct conversations, which do not feel good. I mean, he will, if he was sitting here, he would tell you right now there was a he was too, he was, he was going through a really hard personal time in his life. Sure. And I said, for the sake of recording, I'll I'll leave out some of the words. But I said to him, it got so bad, and just what he was, and I said, I don't even want to be around you. Yeah, I'm gonna ask that you leave here because you cannot show up here and lead this team when I don't even want to be around you. Right. And he said it hit him that day, was like, whoa, oh my gosh. He didn't even realize where he had, right? But that was a really hard conversation that most people would not be comfortable having. But we have never held back from each other and being in this one.

SPEAKER_02 24:55

But you know what? On the flip side, I would say if you're not willing to have that conversation, I would argue I'm not sure you have a partnership. I agree with you completely. Right? I mean, that's that's that's the point. Like, I think sometimes you hear these like challenges that people have around accountability or whatever, a hard conversation. And I always say when I actually when I teach CV, if you have somebody that cares enough about holding you accountable, you should high-five them even if you don't agree with it. Absolutely. And and and I think this is the perfect example of caring about your partner and said, hey, I'm gonna say it, you need to get your head out of your ass because this is this is not helping. Yes, and we partner up for a reason, and and you know, and I think that's that's in fact that is lacking at such a high level right now because everybody's gonna we gotta take care of everybody's feelings and emotions and all this bullshit. It's a softer world than when you and I started. I know. So so that, but that's that's I think you're nailing it. It's it's this is why you guys have the partnership. It yeah, because if you because there are a lot of people that are able to give it, very few are able to receive it, right? So if you if you find an environment where like when you need to give it its welcome, and you know when you're gonna have to take it, and and you you're like, uh that's fine, I I own this, like then the sky's the limit. Yeah. I mean, there's nothing, I mean, you you dictate your own ceiling at that point, because it doesn't really matter, because there's such a there's such a high level of trust that is required in order to have a conversation like this. That's right. That when the conversation is over, like it's over, like we can all move on and have a glass of wine, beer, shot, whatever, it's over. Like we've done it, like we've talked about it. Like no one goes home like hanging on to shit and all this stuff, like it's done and it's over. That's right. And when you have that, then you I mean agreed.

SPEAKER_01 26:49

The only thing in the way is is you basically at that point. Okay, so how does one the only thing in the way is you? So how does one get out of one's own way? One of the things that I've also been very, very committed to doing, and I've been blessed to be have some really, really high-level partners over the last decade plus, is I am a consummate requester of feedback. Oh. So what I mean by that is um, like, you know, when I was with Living, so Adam Hergenrother was the CEO and he and I was part of the executive team. And I would always ask Adam, hey, I'm doing this. If you have feedback, please share it. Hey, and now being partner with Ben and Chris and um our VP of growth is Nikki Miller. And I say, like, here's what I'm doing. I would love your feedback. Would you please share with me how I can grow and how I can get better? So I am always, always looking to go, okay, you know, I've got a track record of doing some things, and there is always room for an improvement, and I welcome it, I want it.

SPEAKER_02 27:43

I well, that's and and the key part to what you're saying is not so much what you're saying, but it's the authenticity behind how you're saying it. Like it's you feel like that it's true. Like I really want feedback, I really want to tell me honestly, like how am I doing, or whatever. And a lot of times people will throw that out there hoping that no one says anything. Yeah, they're doing it just to check the box. Well, I asked for feedback, always giving it to me, you know, and and then you know it's David, you know, because you're in business with some really high-level people.

SPEAKER_01 28:12

Yeah, when you ask high-level people for feedback, they're gonna give it to you. Yeah, and I'm and I'm not doing it. And if you don't want it from them, don't ask. And sometimes I find myself internally feeling defensive, yeah. Yet I go, hey, I'm the one who asked for it. They just gave me what I asked for. Yeah. And I get better because I asked for it and I will receive it. Yeah. I sometimes have to go home and digest it and go, yeah, whew, yeah, that didn't feel good. Yeah. But yet I know I'm getting better from it. And that's okay.

SPEAKER_02 28:42

Like it's not like you have to have a party every time you get, but but and it's okay to say, hey, this this one, I I took it on the chin, but you you have to remember the intent behind it. And as long as people are clear on the intent, then like I said, the sky's the limit, I guess, right? Yes. All right. So looking back at your younger self, what are like three uh pieces of advice you would give yourself that that not necessarily change? Because I don't, I don't, I don't know. I I'm saying that because sometimes people ask me, like, what would you change? And I don't know if I would change anything. But but what are things that maybe you like, you know, like hey, keep an eye out for this or make sure you do this or make sure you do that? What are some advice you would give to like your younger self that you would have liked to have, maybe?

SPEAKER_01 29:27

I was too married to the outcome for too long. Uh uh when there is not a system around accountability, around getting into business with the right people, around filling the blank. When there is not a system and when there is not the right accountability room, we we can fall short to being just human and being too married to the outcome. So yesterday, actually, on a place um training, so Ben Kinney, our our um leader, co-founder, does a session every Monday for the operators, Rainmakers. And it was six reasons why we make bad decisions. And one of them, one of them is um, oh my gosh, what what was it? Um basically you look for the answers that prove that you're right. Yeah. I'm drawing a blank on on the exact name of that one. Yeah. Um, so I was for too long, I was you get too married to being like, well, I'm making this decision because um, and then another one is a sunk cost fallacy. Like, I've already invested so much time in this person that I need to keep doing it. I already invested so much in this. So we make bad decisions because we look for things that validate the way that we already think. We hold on to things for too long. Um, we have uh recency, we fall subject to recency, like, oh gosh, well, I did this, this, and this well. So that means I can automatically do this and this. So it was a really great training on the six reasons why we make bad decisions. So, what would I tell my younger self? One of the things is be more aware of what those reasons are and then put stop gaps in place to prevent yourself from doing it. Sometimes the best way to do that is have a coach. Yeah. Um, be have a business partner, and whether it's someone like like Tom and I or just other people that you trust in the industry that will tell you exactly what you need to hear, whether you want to hear it or not. Right. Um, and when you have those things in place, it will open up one, it can open up one's eyes to saying, okay, I'm not married to what happens with this outcome. Right. Because that is just we we hold on to too much that we shouldn't.

SPEAKER_02 31:38

What I'd hear here is do you think I don't think that's uncommon, especially in our industry, right, where people are very much married to the outcome. Like they they skip the entire process. And if the outcome is there, somehow they feel like they're winning. Yes. Right. And I'm always saying, like, if you don't understand the process and you're winning, you're winning temporarily. Like you're on the clock. Like at some point, this is gonna fall apart because you don't even know how you got there. So so you can't duplicate it. So so I think what I'm the way I'm hearing you saying this is like basically kind of embrace and master the process so you can get the outcome that you're looking for. That's right. Is that fair?

SPEAKER_01 32:19

And the process can be also it there's models and systems processing, and it's also who you're gonna have around you that is gonna be a trusted source.

SPEAKER_02 32:26

Yeah, love it, love it. Um what advice would you give someone getting in the business? Not to yourself, but someone like, hey, um, I want to do this, I want to be you in whatever. What what would you tell them?

SPEAKER_01 32:40

So another piece of advice, and especially in in in the instance of that question, is to please stay humble. Yeah. So many people get so so wrapped up in their own hype, yeah, that they lose humility.

SPEAKER_00 32:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:54

And it's it's one of the it's one of the the biggest mistakes I think people can make because they think their mind, they have these blinders, yeah. Their mind does not stay open. Some people have blinders that are like this long. That's right. And they actually limit their world when they become so bought into their own story that they just won't be receptive to the fact that things can be done differently and that there are those who have gone before them that could make their their journey that much more expeditious and more efficient and more profitable. Yeah. So um, so stay humble. Yeah, stay humble. I can't say that loud enough.

SPEAKER_02 33:30

Well, this is awesome. Thank you. My pleasure. I appreciate you. I hope you guys got a pen and a paper and and hit rewind a few times. There's a ton of nuggets here to learn. So appreciate you all, and I'll see you again sometime soon.