Behind the Smile: Tiffany McQuaid on Faith, Failure, and Fortitude

What do Styx lyrics, a jar of Dum-Dums, and Zig Ziglar wisdom have in common? 

They’re all threads in the vibrant tapestry of Tiffany McQuaid’s life and leadership. In this joyful, unfiltered, and fiercely honest episode, Tiffany takes us behind the scenes of her remarkable journey — from a childhood shaped by dysfunction and determination to building one of Southwest Florida’s most respected real estate brands.

We explore her heartfelt relationship with her late mother, her grounding daily affirmations, the story behind her emotional anthem “Babe, I’m Leaving,” and her bold decision to launch SERHANT. SWFL alongside Ryan Serhant himself. Tiffany shares the deeper meaning behind her book The INth Degree and how she lives it — with intention, courage, and contagious optimism.

If you’ve ever wondered how to stand out by being more of who you are, this episode is your permission slip to go all in!

Transcript

Gratitude has the ability and the capability to completely transform and shift your mindset because you cannot be grateful and ungrateful at the same time. The police showed up at the door and seeing my mom kind of collapse. Um, in the corner was. The turning point of our lives. I remember Barbara Corcoran saying to me, Tiffany, you have to immediately remove the minute you spot a negative energy in your organization because it becomes a cancer.

It wasn't enough to have just a lemonade stand every day. When she left for work, I started going around the house and collecting saleable items, including going through her closet suits and things that she would wear for work that I didn't care for. You can get out of bed and you can open the curtains and say, good morning, God, or go, good God.

This morning. It doesn't matter if you're the richest person in the world or not, how are you leaving an impression with whatever you're doing at the time? Now, let's dive into today's guest, a powerhouse in real estate, an innovator, a community builder, and someone who truly lives by the philosophy of embracing every opportunity and challenge with grace and grit.

Tiffany McQuaid is the founder, president and broker of McQuaid and Company, a multimillion dollar award-winning real estate brokerage in Naples, Florida. She's a marketing strategist, a serial entrepreneur, and a true force in her industry. Recently partnering with Ryan Serhant to launch Serhant Southwest Florida.

She's the author of the Nth Degree, how to Stand Out By Going All In, and is known for her unwavering optimism, creative approach to challenges, and deep commitment to the community. I absolutely loved reading Tiffany's book. The nth degree. I found it not only positive and uplifting, but also incredibly inspiring.

And I could feel her positive energy in her voice. It felt like she was cheering me onto the pages. I really think you're gonna enjoy today's episode. This is, this is so fun in here. It just sucks the whole building, every inch of it. It is like a new discovery. I feel like I'm on, uh, like Willy Wonka's chocolate Factory or something.

That is so funny that you say that because that's what I have always said that I felt like, like people did not know what was going on behind our doors, you know? And then they come in and we show 'em around, and I always said, I felt like the Willy Wonka of real estate. Uh, that's so great. 'cause I, that's the exact experience I had.

Every room was an adventure to me. Every room was something new and cool and something for me to play with. I feel like a kid again. You know, just, there's something, there's ski ball to touch ball. Yeah. Yeah. That's what Brenda said to me. I said, Brenda, have you ever been over there when I went back this morning?

And she said, yeah, yeah. So they have ski ball there. She was the first thing she said. Oh my God. Yeah. There's so many fun things. I mean, it's, it's really creates Yeah. We, yeah, we, we definitely, and there's a method to the madness and if you wanna ask me that question, I'll explain it. 'cause it's actually really good.

Um, I learned all of this from Facebook headquarters in California. You went there? Mm-hmm. Yeah, I spent a whole day there. Really? Yeah. I was there for a business meeting and um, you know, kind of got the full on behind the scenes tour and they explained, I learned so much. So much. And on the flight back from California, that's what I did.

I resched the entire office and came back and changed everything. Oh, how cool. Yeah. Yeah. So you were there for what reason? Why, why were you at I was there actually for, for a business meeting. It was a CEO meeting for the industry and they were, um, speaking to us from an industry perspective. Facebook.

Yeah. Okay. They hosted it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. Um, you know, just different things and they were kind of picking brains about different things and mm-hmm. I was blessed enough to be in that room, so Yeah. And get invited to do that. So there was maybe 25 of us, maybe. And, um. Then, you know, went around the whole campus and I, I kind of thought in my mind that the campus felt like Bayfront to me, you know?

Yeah, yeah. Very similar. Lots of multicolor buildings. And there was, um, um, you know, brick walkways and there was, uh, um, oh, everything from a barber shop they could go get their hair done free. Really? Um, a dentist on site. Oh my gosh. Free dental work. There was an arcade and four different restaurants and a diner and, you know, you'd see 'em riding by on branded bikes.

They would do, you know, bike that ride around on their brakes. And, you know, it felt to me like Bayfront. Yeah. Yeah. And so I came back and just kinda redid everything. Wow. It's, it's beautiful what you've done. Thank you. And also, you know, you don't have the budget that Facebook has. Facebook can throw money at everything and make whatever they want, but for you to be able to do that here in our town is pretty cool.

Oh, thank you. It seems like I, you know, like you're going to an office. I, I don't feel like I'm in an office. Like, I mean, go going to work. Mm-hmm. It wouldn't feel like that at all. Come here. Yeah. Well, I, I think the intent was that we create something remarkable because in any industry, whether it's real estate or you know, a, a salon, there's always opportunity to do something different and unique and go that extra mile and create an expectation that's not what they would've expected.

Yeah. And so when you're in a dynamic where, especially, you know, here you go down Fifth Avenue and you go in real estate office after real estate office after a real estate office. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And. See what you get, you know? Mm-hmm. When you walk in those doors, what, what hits you? You know? Mm-hmm. Is it a standout situation?

Do you, are you being greeted a certain way? Is there, um. You know, something that creates an instant elevation lift in your mind that makes that spot or that location, or the person that you've just walked in to meet with. Yeah. Memorable. Yeah. That you're gonna think about, oh, should I use them again? Um, yeah.

Or that they're top of mind when you're ready to use them again. Right. Right. And anybody can do status quo. Hmm. Yeah. That's not, that's not what's gonna make you stand out. Right. It's about that over and above. It's about pushing yourself, filling voids, because again, every industry has voids. Mm-hmm. And we all have the opportunity to fill those, but we get so stuck in the day to day and just meeting the average expectations.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Who wants to be average? Yeah. You know? Yeah. I mean, many people, it, it's, it's a fine, it's a fine thing to wake up every day and just. Live in normalcy, you know, we can all do that. Mm-hmm. But boy, is there something pretty amazing when you push yourself to be remarkable? Yeah. I think, uh, that's, that's something about you that, um, that there's a natural inspiration about you when you're pushing the envelope.

You just, in hearing you talk about pushing the envelope and being different, like how exciting it is when you do that, when you do commit to being different, to not being just status quo and not being the same thing. I remember when, um, first National Bank of Naples, I went there, um, Gary Teis did a couple of banks in Naples and he always was trying to be different in the banking industry.

And they did a version of their bank, which was the last one, which has been sold. But when I first went in, um, they, they got rid of all the big. Countertops that separated people from the bank, part of, from the teller where it was like this cage and, you know, you were walking up to this altar and begging Yeah.

They changed it to this open space where you walked, they had these little kiosks that the teller worked at, and you were right there with them in front of the computer. Mm-hmm. And then they had a coffee bar and a food bar, and it just felt like I was at a Starbucks. Yeah. The first time I'd gone there and I was like, wow, this is so different.

It, it, and, and the serv, you know, they emphasized service and they emphasized things that, you know, were, were, were different for banking. That was very mm-hmm. I wasn't used to, but it definitely caught my attention and it was where I banked until they, well we still banked there even Yeah. When they were bought.

But Yeah. Uh, but it was something that. Because banks to me are vanilla. Vanilla, you know, they're all the same. There's not much difference in a lot of banks and what's gonna separate them from the others. And yeah, I, I, I can clearly see, especially after, you know, reading your book, which I thought was phenomenal.

And anyone who hasn't read it, it's, it's, um, very inspirational and I, I just absolutely loved it. Um, it was, thank you, really good for my soul. It affirmed a lot of things in my life that I might have had doubts about, would helped me through. And, you know, I, I, uh, many things I loved about it. So you definitely are a, uh, on the forefront of, uh, the cutting edge in, in what you do and, and being in here, I, I've seen your, the way you light up the salon when you come in the salon, um, and, and how you are in there and, and the, the, the, the path that you, the wake that you leave of, of joy and happiness, thank, you know, it's a cool thing.

It, you got a good thing in your spirit that's helpful for humanity. I love that. Thank you. That means so much to me. It, um. There, there's a lot of things that I, I bubbling over with so much that I wanted to talk to you about because, uh, yeah. In the book, you, you hit on so many things that were, um, close to my heart.

Mm-hmm. And one of the things, um, the song, and I listened to it this morning, um, babe By Sticks. Yeah. Yeah. That, um, that whole, the story behind that. Yeah. Are you okay talking about that? Um, yes. Yes. We can talk about it. It doesn't mean that I am not gonna, you know, I'll try it. That just threw me you saying that, so, um, but it's, it's good.

Let's talk about it. Let's talk about it. Yeah. I, I, I think, you know, maybe this conversation, maybe there's somebody that's gonna need to hear this today. Yeah. Or the day that they hear it. Yeah. Yeah, I, um, what's the story behind it? So the story behind it was, you know, kinda picture it circa 1980. Think about that time, you know, it was so much simpler, right?

Hmm. And it was also a time where technology did not rain. You know, it was a little too much technology in one device when you had a digital clock radio, remember, only one would work at a time. It was just a little too much back then. But, you know, at that time I was 10, my sister was five, and my parents, um, had just gone through a divorce.

And it was November, 1980 when they divorced. And my father, you know, he, um. Really had a difficult time with it. Well, they both did, but you know, back then people don't talk about, or did not speak of mental health issues or challenges or struggles. My dad, brilliant man, brilliant man, he was a chemist at Firestone, uh, Akron, Ohio, you know, big tire and rubber town.

Hmm. And he was a chemist, just so brilliant, but always made people laugh, always made people smile. And I think sometimes we can go through life and think that the strong ones or the ones that do have smiles and do come across as positive at times, you know, we tend to forget those people and forget that there's hurts inside of them.

And you know, he was a great example of that. And on Christmas Day, 1980, you know, he decided to with, uh, you know, uh, cyanide from his, you know, the lab mm-hmm. Decided to, um, take his life. Mm-hmm. And, you know, at the time it was a, it was a very strange thing. We never talked about it, you know, after it happened.

But I will tell you, even that day, you know, my sister and I, we get up, we open our presents, you know, you're all excited again, I'm 10, she's five. You know, that's, that's the holy grail of holidays of course is Christmas. Yeah. Mm-hmm. So you get up, we open our presents and, uh, tried to call our dad and he didn't answer, but it was so early, didn't think anything about it.

Mm-hmm. When about the day, you know, just enjoy in total joy. So think about that. You know, you open those presents, you're all excited and you're playing with them and you're in the ultimate level of joy. Hmm. And then around, it was probably around noon-ish. We were at my great aunt's house for Christmas dinner.

We had just gone over, you know, back then you had dinner early on holidays. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And the police showed up at the door and that knock on the door and seeing my mom kind of collapse. Um, in the corner was the turning point of our lives. And, you know, at that time. Uh, being in a position where someone was electing to do that.

Mm-hmm. And, you know, we were a big Catholic family. Mm-hmm. Wow. And, um, you know, it was, uh, there was a perception at that point that, you know, we were kind of distanced out of the family. It was just, he was not spoken of from that point forward because people did not know how to handle that and deal with a stigma that came along with a suicide.

You know, even today, it's a very difficult thing for people to absorb and deal with. Yeah. Yeah. I feel like it's out there more, you know, there's more help. There's more ability and capability Yeah. To get. Uh, channels out there, uh, for, for help. Mm-hmm. And for encouragement and support. But we're also in a world of social media where, you know, people can tear people down so much.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And you know, you post something and sometimes you gotta a 50 50 split of people who are gonna love it and people are gonna hate it. Yeah. If you have an opinion out there. Yeah. Don't even talk politics. Yeah. But if you have an opinion, you know, people are gonna judge you. They're gonna judge your photos and there's more access to that.

Yeah. And with that, you know, the younger generation is coming up now, you know, in a different world. We're now seeing the lowest. Uh, more rates of, of people, you know, suicide rates at, of a younger age. Oh my gosh, that's so sad. Yes. Than ever before. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. So, you know, when I think about circa 1980 and what we went through and he was just like never spoken of again.

Hmm. You know, we're in a world now where we have the ability and the capability to. Turn people's days around. We don't have to be like that. Yeah. We don't have to comment hateful things behind a screen and a keyboard to someone who has the right to voice their opinion or their thought. You have an opportunity to just scroll on by.

Yeah. Or if you see someone that's just not treating you well or you know, being, you're not being served in the way that you would desire at a restaurant. Yeah. Yeah. You have a way to turn that person's day around, you know? Mm-hmm. What if you greeted people with a large smile, you know, just for the sake of it.

Yeah. You know, you by doing that, even if you're not having a great day, you're elevating your day. Yeah. You know? Mm-hmm. I could be having the worst day ever, but I'll tell you, if I see someone and I genuinely. Know in my heart that they're a good person and they're, they've always been there for me and I'm encountering them when I walk in the door, which is the case with everyone here in my organization.

Mm-hmm. I can't help but smile and I could have the weight of the world on my shoulders, but the minute I see them, and I've trained myself to react with a smile mm-hmm. It elevates my day. Yeah. So imagine what it's doing to theirs. Yeah. And if they're having a rough day, you know, and now you're heightening the reaction.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Just think about that. I, I've gotten into a habit where I feel like, you know, after my dad's dynamic happened and there's so much that I could talk about that I've learned, you know, through that, through, through that case scenario and what I've kind of taught and mentally trained myself for, um, over the years, it's kind of been like a mental Olympics for me, uh, of how to overcome and.

Just overcome, you know, we all have tough days, so I could probably go on all day, but I do feel like I was given a gift and you know, that gift is to use this big mouthful of teeth to, to, to do that, to help bring a heightened energy and um, you know, use that smile genuinely and authentically. Mm-hmm.

Because you never know who's on the other end. Yeah. If that person on that day or maybe the day before. They were saying, I can't do it anymore. I can't go another day. I can't handle one more attack. I can't handle the weight that's on my shoulders, or the expectations that I have or what's going on in the world is just too much for me right now.

Mm-hmm. They could have had that day. Yeah. And you're very greeting, you know, whether it's in line at Starbucks or Dunking or walking into the salon or walking into a random store or a random real estate office. Yeah, yeah. You know? Mm-hmm. It's, it's that engagement. You could be sitting in a restaurant. I, I've witnessed this myself.

I've seen people. In restaurants, you know, we're, we're waiting in line for something and they're just angry, angry at the world. They're, you know, mental, excuse me. Their mental situation is that of negative energy. Mm-hmm. And although you can't change, you know those people that kind of rest in that, you know, we do have a choice every day.

We have a choice to get up every day and say, am I gonna be positive today and approach whatever comes at me with a positive response, or am I gonna be negative to today and just rest in it and carry that through? We have a choice. Mm-hmm. We have a choice. And I've seen people in those dynamics react to maybe those on the other side of the counter or those.

Bringing, you know, your food and they complain or what have you, but here's what I've watched. If you have someone that's maybe responding to you negatively, let's say you're at a restaurant and you're ordering breakfast and maybe it hasn't gone so well, or maybe somebody's reacting not so kindly. If you turn that around and instead of, oh, maybe I'm not gonna tip them as much today, but instead you over tip, you over ingratiate that situation.

They cannot move forward in a stance at their mental capacity. Completely shifts. They cannot not. Mm-hmm. It it, you can watch it, you can see it all unfold. You know, those are typically the people that maybe need that positive energy a little more than others. Yeah. And you know, sometimes we can. Complain and, you know, look at it as, oh, that was a horrible experience and go on and rated zero stars, you know, because our, our, you know, our, our, the person serving us or assisting us and and doing their job on that day was, you know, maybe having, having a rough day.

There's a lot of rough days out there right now. Yeah, yeah. But we have an opportunity to, to change that, you know, and, and really put a different mark on the world to the best of your ability or capability. What do you do to get yourself to that place? I wake up so naturally cynical. I look at my sleep score.

Oh, it didn't get enough. It, yeah. Bad night. Yeah. Uh, just, uh, it's June in Naples and it's a struggle in the summer and Yeah. You know, there's just. Uh, it's hurricane season and there's bad news. There's a war, and just the mental cynicism that I wake up with Yes. Is so pervasive. Mm-hmm. How do you get yourself in that mindset?

Yeah. Well, that's a fantastic question. You know, because that, that cynicism is unilateral and so many people right now, and, you know, we're all there. We all, we all have it, but it's so easy to flip that switch. But you do have to train yourself. I mean, understand, I've been working on, it's, it's a job. Yeah.

You know? Right. It is. Mm-hmm. A job, but I work very, very hard at it. But here's, here's the dynamic and I, I remember years ago somebody had said to me. Tiffany, you have one way that you can approach a day. You can get outta bed and you can open the curtains and you can look out and say, good morning, God.

Or you can get outta bed, open that curtain and go, good God. It's morning. You know? Yeah. Think about that. Yeah. So when we're getting up in the morning, uh, the, the best thing that I can say is you have to immediately remove the distraction. And the biggest issue that I see today that I think everyone does, I don't do it anymore, but they immediately look at their phones.

Mm. Or look at their watch. Mm-hmm. Whatever they're approaching the day from. Exactly that perspective. You have to get up in the morning and you have to be thankful. Mm. Number one that you got up. Hmm. Thank you for this day. Hmm. Thank you for everything that I'm about to absorb today, you know, good and bad because they're both gifts.

Mm. You know? Mm-hmm. You learn from the bad. We don't learn as much from the good. Hmm. Think about it. So just start your day with gratitude and then, you know, make your coffee, make your coffee. Sit down, relax. Take some time to focus on your mental state. Read something that's inspiring. Listen to something that's inspiring, or just sit in the quiet.

Give yourself 10 or 15 minutes. To just be you. Don't look at anything. Don't read anything. Don't look at the news. Nothing's gonna change because you looked at it. Yeah, you know the world's not gonna change just because you know you looked at your email or felt you needed to respond right away. You owe yourself.

A fresh start to the day. That is one of peace and focus and centered on you. Mm-hmm. And when you calibrate yourself in the morning, I promise you this, I promise you this. When you calibrate yourself in the morning, maybe you take some time to go for a walk, jump in the pool, jump on the treadmill, you know, do whatever you need to do.

Take your quiet time, set your mental capacity, and then you do something to move. Go. Just stand in the grass barefoot for five minutes. I guarantee you that. All of that grounding energy and taking that 30 minutes combined or an hour, whatever you can give yourself, you will walk into your day an entirely different human being.

Hmm. I promise you that. Yeah. Because we're in a world of distraction and reaction. Yeah. That's all we're doing. We, everyone's contacting us via phone, text, email, you know, we're reacting to everything. We're seeing it on tv, we're seeing it on our computers. Ev people, they're demanding. Instant response.

Instant reaction. Instant, instant, instant. We're living in just this world of stress. Yeah. You know? But we're creating it ourselves. Yeah. So imagine you flip that switch now and you say to yourself, okay, self, I'm gonna get up tomorrow morning and I'm gonna take control of my day. I'm not gonna let my day take control of me.

I'm going to get up, I'm gonna focus in first thing on gratitude. Gratitude will change the course of your life. I can assure you that. Mm-hmm. And it's as simple as, thank you for, thank you for allowing me to get up today. Mm-hmm. You know, there's days that I focus on different gratitude things like some days.

And, and this may sound crazy. I'll focus on, you know, my body, you know, thank you for, for my healthy body and the ability to, you know, that my feet are still able to keep me planted and move and, you know, my ankles and my calves and my knees are healthy and, you know, my legs, I can still do everything that I need to do.

And, you know, my hips are good. I can still stretch. Yeah. Yeah. And, you know, you just kind of, I've got a mind that's sharp and, you know, gives me ideas that make me stand out. And the fact that you give me the words to be able to speak and convey a message that mm-hmm. May be able to help others. Mm. And you know, hair that swells in the humidity at this time of year, I love this time of year

and the ability to, you know, have a little downtime this time of year. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. You know? Mm-hmm. We're, as you mentioned, we're in an area that is so snowbird. Mm-hmm. Driven. Yeah. And we can have good seasons, bad seasons, but remember there's always opportunity in every down market. You were brilliant last year.

You created an opportunity, and I see you're doing it again in that, in a down market or in a downtime, you created those princess makeovers. Mm-hmm. Brilliant. Brilliant. Mm, brilliant. You know, because you're creating a feelgood dynamic where these little girls can come in and get some little tinsel Mm. In their hair mm-hmm.

And become, you know, Taylor Swift for a day. Mm mm And do something that they don't normally get to do. Yeah. And their mom gets to witness it or maybe participate if they're, you know, two. Mm-hmm. But what's happened now? You've heightened, you've elevated an experience that's created a positive memory.

You've skipped every step of advertising and marketing and running ads and all that stuff. You've now created an experience. Mm-hmm. That creates top of mind awareness. That now they're never gonna forget. Mm. Yeah. Yeah. And who are they gonna call now when you know, when they want to get their hair done or something starts to happen.

It's not gonna happen with everyone, but it's gonna happen more times than not. And now you've created something that's embedded in their head as opposed to just. An ad that they may or may not see, you know, scrolling through social media Yeah. Or what have you, you filled a void Yeah. And you did something that others have not done.

Yeah. So it's those types of things that in down markets create opportunity and, and sometimes it can benefit financially in that moment, but sometimes it's a long game. Yeah. And, but either way, you built and created a foundation based off of an experience that others did not. That's why we did all these events here at Bayfront.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. You know? Mm-hmm. Back when, uh, and I'm sure that they'll come back here at some point, but, mm-hmm. That's how I built my business, was doing these events here at Bayfront from Rocking on the Bay that me have gotten us in a little bit of trouble, but, but it was a, a good end game. Yeah. You know, the end game was just to bring joy to the town, you know?

Yeah. Share music, get everyone together. But the goal was to get people here on a regular basis, to see the Robert of Philadelphia sign and, you know, our real estate sign and the restaurant signs. Mm-hmm. So that it creates based off of an experience, top of mind. Yeah. Oh, let's go to breakfast at DJ's. Oh, I need a haircut.

I didn't even know Robert of Philadelphia was there. Mm-hmm. That was the whole purpose of that, you know, and the end result. Was bringing joy and an experience that people could talk about that was remarkable and different and unique. So whether it was Taste of Collier or Rocking On the Bay, or the Stone Crab Festival, or we also did Rocking the Point at Coconut Point, uh, we were rocking on the river in Bonita.

You know, we've been mm-hmm. We've been doing, we did some country club concerts rocking on the range, uh, you know, quail Creek Country Club and other places. So, you know, it's about creating experiences that help brand and create brand awareness. I could never have created my real estate brokerage, uh, if I did not do those events.

Mm-hmm. So it was sweat equity, it was using experience creating. Using our experience in event management for my past life. But, um, using that to catapult into experience and relationship marketing that creates retention. Hmm. Well, that's what I got, just walking in, uh, into this space was the Yeah.

Experience of, of being a kid almost. That's what I felt like. I just wanted to grab the balls and I wanted to play the games. I wanted to eat the candy. I wanted to have fun. The ice cream, there's an ice cream freezer, you know, it's loaded with incredible ice cream. Yeah. Just, it, it evokes an emotion just like music does.

It evokes an emotional Yeah. Uh, like Joy to the World is one of your songs that I heard. Yeah. The Three Dog Night, uh, right song you, you talked about in the book too, which Yeah. Is another song that when you hear music, it, it pulls out that emotion. Yeah. I, um, you mentioned a couple things. It was in your book and just now.

Uh, you talked about listening to, um, something that's gonna be uplifting, which your book was for me. It, it created, it filled that when my mind is, is not being fed with something positive or enlightening, it naturally is drawn to what doesn't work, what's negative, what's wrong. Yeah. What's bad, what's, you know, just, just where it goes.

It goes to the, the cynicism, the off ization of everything. Yeah. Uh, and your book was really good for me. And I remember my father listening to, um, Zig Ziglar tapes. That is so funny. Didn't I talk about that? You did. It reminded me of that. Yeah. I was gonna say, wait, did I put that in the book? You did. Yeah.

That is is so funny. Yeah. Yeah. He would, they were tapes of tapes. He had recorded tapes. He didn't even have the originals on this terrible cassette player and he loudly listened to them in the morning, in the bedroom. And I can hear 'em throughout the house. 'cause we lived in a small house in Vanderbilt Beach and, um.

You know, I would hear Zig Ziglar every morning help enough other people get what they want, and you will always get what you want. Yes, you had to do that. You always listen to that. But it was, you know, that, that's, I find that for myself that, you know, when I do that, it it, or the, the other side of it is, like you said, when you wake up, my wife and I just got back from Grand Cayman and we shut our, we don't do roaming on our cell phones, so we don't have access to texting or anything, which is, I love that part of it.

Mm-hmm. Um, and, uh. You know, I've also gotten an habit of turning notifications off on my phone. 'cause I have notifications for everything. There's so many ways people can contact us now. It's just, yeah. Right. It's, and most of the communications are not urgent, but people expect them to be now. But we didn't have them turned on and, and, and we didn't know 'cause we weren't checking the news and everything that there's a war, you know, like Yeah.

And, but, but had we known anyway, what could we have done anyway? What difference would it have made? Yeah. Did it make no difference at all anyway? Right. Right, right. There's nothing we could do, uh, except worry or get more upset. Mm-hmm. Or, you know, whatever there is. Yeah. So, um, you know, those practices, I can see, um, you know, how they really make a difference when you, when you put them into place.

And, and, and my father-in-law used to say, uh. Every day. Today is the best day of my life. E every morning, that's how he started his day. You know, like always, he just, and it was who I always experienced him as. Was this just, he was so grateful. Like you said, you talk about gratitude Yeah. For every single moment.

Yeah. That he had gratitude has the ability and the capability to completely transform and shift your mindset. Hmm. It is so, it is absolutely the truth because you cannot be grateful and ungrateful at the same time. Yeah. You can't. So if you are constantly leaning into gratitude, you know, there's, there's M Mornings where I, on my entire drive to the office that's.

All I'm focused in on, you know, is, um, I'm, you know, I'm so grateful for the opportunities before me and the fact that, you know, I'm hitting all the green traffic lights today, and which I did today, um, that, you know, I get a great, I got a great parking spot today. You know, that, that, um, you know, that the sun's out and that we live in this place where the sky is blue and in the summer we get to and fro so easy, you know, and we get that little bit of reprieve and every afternoon we get a little bit of rain that just like calms my nervous system and makes me like, wanna nest for a little bit.

You know, for me, one of the hazards of growing up in Ohio. And I say all the time, it's a great place to be from. Is that our, our sunny days, you know, your whole life, you go your whole life this way. We're so few and far between. Mm. That when they happened that you had this inner within you that you had to go, go, go and do, do, do.

Mm-hmm. And when that's ingrained in you, your whole life, you move down here and it's very hard to get outta that. Mm-hmm. So. And every day's Nice here. Yeah. So you never really mentally have these down days that you feel like, even if you're sick, like I just wanna be sick at home and I let it be gray outside, so I don't feel guilty that I just wanna lay on the couch for the day and watch movies, you know?

Yeah. It's this inner guilt within me that I struggle to exist with. Yeah. Yeah. Still after all these years, you know? Yeah. And I think that's, that's the mentality even that we see when the snowbirds come down. You know, they come down because they want that sun, and these people are going all day, every day when they're down here, right?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. They don't get a break, nor do we. Yeah. So we go nonstop. So to me, this time of year, I feel like is God's gift to us. Hmm. We get a little bit of a break, we get a little bit of downtime without guilt. Yeah. That we can just. Settle in on ourselves and, you know, just do what we need to do to reignite and recharge to get ready Yeah.

For the next season. And our seasons are getting longer down here. Right, right. You know, we're seeing it obviously even in real estate. We have, I, I signify it as pre-season is October one through the end of the year. Mm-hmm. Season is October one through the end of Easter month, whenever Easter may fall.

Mm-hmm. And then to me, post-season is end of beginning of the month after Easter through the end of June. Mm-hmm. So we have like a few months there that are kind of what I call our, our reprieve months. Yeah. Uh, and, you know, recharge, reenergize, you know, refuel, get ready. Yeah. Get ready. Yeah. Yeah. And because then, you know, come October, it's not just them kind of starting to come back, but we've got holiday season and we don't get a break from holiday season before our season mm-hmm.

Hits. So to me, taking full advantage of those few months of reprieve Yeah. Are, are gift. Yeah. And yeah, maybe, you know, financially they hit us a little more too because business is not as heavy. But again, there's always opportunity in every down market. So if you just kind of find a way to fill a void there, there's always ways.

Yeah. There's always ways. Yeah. Well, even when you're, have no idea what that could be like you talked about in your book, uh, during COVID Times, which Yeah, you, uh, it was brutal. Oh, wasn't it? Yeah. Yeah. I, you know, I, um. I, I, I know it was brutal for us going through it. And we, we were in Grand Cayman. I didn't realize this.

They were closed for 20 months. Wow. A lot of the places that we had gone to there, um, when we, we were last there in 2019 were gone because the 20, they couldn't, they couldn't survive through 20 months. Yeah. There so many businesses were, were gone. And I, yeah, I remember. But for us here, the 56 days that we were closed to vividly remember DeSantis coming on on May 8th saying Salons can open back up on Monday.

Yeah. What a blessing that was. You know, just how lucky it was. Yeah. But you, uh, you had to adapt and be different and you did things that were very innovative. Yeah. Again, innovative. Yeah. Uh, that, uh. Made a difference. You, you made use of that time in a special way. Mm-hmm. Yeah. What were some of the things that you did?

Well, so my brain functions very creatively, but I'm not one of those that can be creative all the time. I'm like on a 50 50 split, left brain, right brain. So when I'm in creative mode and everyone here kinda knows it, it's like, to me it's a gift. Well, it can be a blessing and a curse at times, but for them it can be a curse at times.

Because when I'm in creative mode, I spew things out like a ticker tape. But I'm a one hit wonder. So when I create things and I spew it out, if nobody writes it down, it's gone. Like, I can't, it's hard for me to re, so if I come up with a slogan or a tagline or an idea or whatever, if we don't write it down at the moment of impact, it's, it's gone just wiped from my brain.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But then when I'm in business mode, you know, I'm more logical, um, and looking at things differently. So during COVID time. It gave me such a freedom to be able to create, but it really set my mind up for that, you know? And what I did, I got up every morning, although we probably, I, I think we weren't supposed to, but I just, I did it.

I got up every morning, jumped at my car every single morning, and I drove out to Ave Maria. And it was a really strange situation for me. I would make a coffee and I would drive out with my warm coffee in hand, listening to, you know, some motivational, inspirational mm-hmm. Book to just keep my mindset audiobook.

To keep my mindset right. And then I would get out there and I would walk the loop around the water. And although they had the church locked, you know, at that time, I would spend time on this special bench, um, that I had, that kind of overlooked the water toward the church. Um. I did this every day and I would walk and get my body moving and you know, do three miles pretty much two, three miles a day.

And then I would just spend 10, 15 minutes on that bench just surrendering, you know, and realizing that, hey, I can't, I can't control this, you know, but just, I can't stress about it either. And I would just release whatever was in my head that for that day. And it was just like a giant exhale for me. And then I would go home and, you know, we were all still working from home, so we would do our meetings and stuff and you know, we were just at our most creative at that time because I think that downtime just gave us opportunity to do that.

So we started filling voids. We created. We took, you know, probably the biggest one that I'm most proud of is, you know, we still had a duty and a responsibility to our sellers who had entrusted us, you know, with their listings. Right, sure. And, and their, you know, biggest life investment. Yeah. For the most part.

Mm-hmm. And so what we did it, it immediately, I got this vision of every Sunday in Ohio, my mom and I would get up and there was this little channel in Akron that would run a real estate show. And all it was was this just monotone kind of voice, uh, a female voice over talking over these properties. And I remember those.

They would just scroll. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You know, property after property for like an hour and a half, two hours or whatever it would be. And we would just sit there and watch all these properties. And I immediately channeled that thinking, wait a second, why don't we do this? So I started going through all of our inventory and on my phone, on my voice memo, I went through and created, you know, this whole, welcome to our McQuaid and Company open house.

Please come on in and enjoy. Mm-hmm. And then I started every property that way. I would just pull little clips of, um. The MLS description out. Mm-hmm. I would send each voice memo to Adam, my head of creative. Mm-hmm. And he would then embed the photos. We turned them into 62nd spots and started pummeling 'em out as commercials all over, uh, television.

Mm-hmm. And I mean, it was something that nobody had ever seen before. You know, who does that? You know? Yeah, yeah. Um, who did that? I mean, we were running them like crazy. And I, you know, it, it just turned out to be one of the biggest blessings. We, we did so many different things. We started mailing out instead of about properties.

Because most of our agents were farming certain communities. Mm-hmm. Including myself. We started mailing out games, you know, for that area. Like it was round Easter. So we mailed out these big postcards that had a bunny hunt and on the back kind of this giant bunny that they could cut out and put in their window.

And we made it a game for people to go around and count the bunnies in the window in their community. So it got families out, everybody of all ages. And then we had them text us the number that they found and we would drop at their door, you know, little gifts and what have you. And then every week we told them every week to go out and move the bunnies to different windows so that it was a whole new game each week.

Oh wow. Yeah. And just crazy things like that. Yeah. And you know, that turned into. So much business when we came out of COVID. Mm. Because we were creating experiences. Mm-hmm. You know? Mm-hmm. And, and with the TV commercials, it was just such a difference watching, uh, there were more captive eyes on television than ever during COVID, right?

Yeah, of course. Yeah. There was. Yeah. So they were so used to seeing regular commercials, and then all of a sudden it transitioned into welcome to our McQuain company. It was like, wait a second, what is this? And we rotated all of our properties through, um, you know, these spots and, you know, so just creating unique, different experiences, much like you, like I said, like you did, you know, it's those types of things that create Memorable Yes.

Memorable experiences. Mm-hmm. So, and they think of you for business. Yeah. Which is so much what life is about is our experiences versus, um. So many other things. Yeah. I, I was, there's a guy doing this, um, seminar and he was talking about for, I think he's geared towards entrepreneurs. I just happened to read it last night and he was saying, so many entrepreneurs, and I'm guilty of it too, uh, get their joy, or they think it's joy, but it's really not.

Mm-hmm. But get their satisfaction from the, the victories or the wins or the, the numbers. Yes. Did they hit their goal? Yeah. Are they successful? Are they meaning that And, uh, they sacrifice so much for that mm-hmm. That they don't ever truly experience joy. Yeah. Um, which is the experiences that we have in our lives.

Yeah. That the, yeah. What, what the actual experiences are. So, you know, we were talking before the, before we got on camera this morning mm-hmm. About, um, our own mortality. Yes. And the number of weeks you mentioned in the book that we. An average person that lives for 4,000 weeks, I think is what it was.

Right? Yeah. Yeah. And it made me do the math on mine and think that, you know, I've lived for 3,200 already and I've got, you know, if I'm blessed or lucky, I got a, you know, that many left. We, we never really know. Um, but, um, and, and hearing your shift in your own life got me thinking too because you, you were shifting gears with the, with the business in, in terms of how you have recently, um, taken on the partnership with Ryan Shan.

Right. And, and how that has, it's, it's a rebranding and it's a, it's a whole, it's a major shift. Yes. Yes. For you. Yes, yes. Well, and going, speaking of joy, and I'll tell you how that turned into, where I'm at right now is. You know, I, I don't think people quite understand or equate, you're absolutely right.

They, they look at the winds or the victories as being the high, you know, when in fact that's just the pinnacle, you know, you're, you're hitting as on the entrepreneurial journey. Yeah. And, and life journey for everyone. You know, you have goals and desires and levels that you go through to get to the pinnacle, whatever that pinnacle point would be.

Mm-hmm. And some levels are harder than others, but with each level, you're gaining strength and you're pushing through it to get to the next level. You know, and you can only get to that pinnacle when you go through those levels. And you're absolutely right. A lot of people equate joy to the accomplishment of the level.

Okay, I got there. Alright, I, I did this, I accomplished that goal. Now I can exhale and feel joy. No, you're not at your pinnacle. So that joy is. Momentary, it doesn't last. Right? Right. The joy has to come from within, you know, so that you can enjoy the journey, good or bad. And what I think people forget, and I, I think is probably the pinnacle and what ultimately resulted in my alliance, my merger with Ryan Serhant, is the joy and enthusiasm go hand in hand.

And I think what people forget is it's enthusiasm. It's enthusiastic energy that makes you stand out. It's enthusiastic energy that helps you push through the, the challenges and the obstacles that life throws at us. Hmm. It's the enthusiastic energy that takes you to greatness, that uplevels you. Because when you think about, um, you know, if you're.

Wanting to, uh, just have a good day. I think of our agents on floor, you know, that come in and sit at our front desk and prepare to greet people that walk in the door. You know, much like you at the salon too. And you know, you have people that are in that role too. Mm-hmm. You know what a difference when you're walking in and you're approaching the day with enthusiastic energy, you're authentically excited to see somebody walk in.

Yeah. And you're greeting them with that energy. Yeah. I can assure you, because we did the research. You go into all these businesses, it doesn't matter where you're at in the world, just go walk down to Main Street and walk in business after business. How are you greeted? How are you greeted if the majority of all those businesses are gonna be lacking in that enthusiastic energy mm-hmm.

They may look up from their, you know, whatever they're doing, they may haphazardly, you know, give you acknowledgement. You know, people are on their phones, they're distracted. Yeah. It's that enthusiastic energy that sets the stage for anything and everything. Yeah. And joy and enthusiasm go hand in hand. So if you're focusing in on, and really that goes back to how you approach the day.

If you're focusing in on today, just today, not tomorrow, not gonna worry about what happened yesterday, but just today, I'm gonna make my goal. About gratitude and what's gonna bring me joy for the day. Hmm. I may have the world coming at me on this day. Yeah. But if I can find little specks and if on that certain day that's all you can find, little speckles.

Hmm. Of joy, that's going to uplift you in ways that you could never even imagine. Yeah. And really, that's all we need to seek. Yeah. We need to seek joy. Yeah. Every day. Yeah. And then surround it with gratitude. That's all you need to completely transform everything that goes on, both within and without.

Yeah. Yeah. You know? Yeah. That, that is what will transform your life. Because what happens with that then? That's enthusiasm and that enthusiastic energy is what people feel. That's what exudes and that's, you know, that's as, as you mentioned, when you walk into a dynamic with that enthusiastic energy. Yeah.

That's what leaves the mark. Yeah. That's what makes the difference. And honestly, that's part of the reason why I've been blessed to be in this dynamic, you know, to, to ha even have the opportunity to have not only met and worked with for almost five years now, Ryan Serhant to now have merged our companies.

Mm. It's. Somehow we stood out. Mm. You know that enthusiastic energy. Yeah. And you connect with people like that. Mm. You know, we're like kind, you know, him and I in many ways and that's where the connection came in. Hmm. You know? Yeah. You attract those that are similar to you. Yeah. That's how I've had Barbara Corcoran is my, as I call her, my fairy godmother for over 20 years, you know, in my life involved in my business.

It's How did that happen? Yeah, yeah. You know, but it's when you attract light, kind energy. Yeah. What energy are you putting out today? Not just you, but anyone listening. Yeah. What energy are you putting out? Because we're not seeking, we're not chasing people or, well, I mean, many people are, but. The, the, the Holy Grail is to attract people, attract people who are similar to you.

I feel like I have a whole organization full of them. Mm-hmm. We've gone through a lot of negative people over the years. Yeah. You know? Yeah. That once their energy is removed from a dynamic, the whole group put a differe. It makes, yes, yes. The team lifts, you know, I remember Barbara Corcoran saying to me, Tiffany.

You have to immediately remove the minute you spot it a negative energy in your organization because it becomes, becomes a cancer. Mm-hmm. And it brings everyone down. Yeah. And that equates to energy and enthusiasm. Yeah. Not everyone's gonna be positive all the time. Right. But on the days that you're not to have that enthusiastic energy around you to help uplift you.

Yes. And there's many days where I have to uplift, you know, several around me. Yes. You know, but we're all in that wavelength and we're all on that path that the goal is that we wanna be in that space and we wanna be there together. Yeah. And when you eliminate those negative few, it, it's, it's so powerful and so impactful.

Yeah. And you don't even realize it in the moment. Yeah. You know? Um, regardless, re regard, I love that because it's regardless of their. Yeah. Their skills, regardless of how great they're technically, their skillset, their performance, their results, any of that. Yeah. If the attitude is not there, its the fabric of it.

No, you can't, yeah. You can't teach that because that's in bread, you know? That's, there's something within them that they have to change. You can always teach skills. I don't even look at resumes. I'm not a big resume person. A hundred percent. I couldn't agree more. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. I'm about energy. I read energy.

Mm-hmm. You know, are they gonna be a fit in terms of the ability, uh, for us to help uplevel them, you know? Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And sometimes there's people that you can do to a certain extent, yes. And then they hit a level or a lull that they just can't go with you any further. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And those are okay too.

Yeah. Yeah. Let them fall off or let them go. Yeah. Whatever it would be. You can't have that hold you down. And I've learned some hard lessons, you know, in that over the course of this journey, uh, very hard lessons, but I needed to learn them. To understand when it, when I see it very clearly moving forward, you know, that, oh, I've been down this road.

Okay. Lesson learned, let's, you know, make some tough decisions at times. Um, but you have to do it because you organization cannot grow without it. Mm. Can't. Right. It, it just can't, you know, barbell always talks to, talks about, um, every organization needs an expander and a container, meaning someone that has the visionary ability and capability to see, you know, big picture where we're going, what we're gonna do.

Mm-hmm. And then you also need a container, someone who's gonna clean that up, keep it, you know, okay, what can we do? Whether it's financially or, you know, capability wise or what have you, that every organization needs that. Mm-hmm. But it's, when you're looking at a container. You can have someone that is going to kind of rope you in, but you can't have someone that does it in a negative way.

Yeah. You know that, that's so critical. Mm-hmm. Where you have to put the gauntlet down and Yeah. You know, you can have someone that guides you and, and helps you to make, you know, those tough decisions or keeps you, you know, in line. Um, I'm obviously very much an expander, you know? Mm-hmm. So those around me that are containers, you know, now, especially like right now, just incredible mental attitude and capacity that we can all make incredible decisions and some of them hard decisions together, but we're not in a pit.

Mm-hmm. A mental pit together. Yeah. It's okay, we're gonna make these decisions because this is what needs to happen. And now we're gonna uplevel, we're gonna. You know, go to our next level. We're gonna, we're all in this together and we're now going to uplift the next day is a new day and let's tackle it together.

Mm. I love that. Yeah. I love the, um, I can map myself onto what you're saying 'cause I'll, when I'm surrounded by, um, good people and, and you know, we've gotten better at weeding out the negativity over the years, you know? Yeah. It just, sometimes you don't even realize it's there. Or the cancers. Yes. Um, but I can go walk into any one of the locations of our salons and, and, uh, no matter what my mindset I'm in, you know, this morning I, I saw Brenda first thing, and, and she had this big smile and she asked, how was your trip?

And she just, just her warm hello affected it, it, it. It impacted me in such a positive way. Yeah. And when I'm surrounded by people like that who just aren't, yeah. Oh, it's, uh, it's summer and it's June, and, you know, just her positivity or that, that moment can, and then, and then when she may not be there, I'm there for her.

But the, the way the, the chemistry of the group is mm-hmm. They lift each other up. 'cause not everybody walks in with the, it's not the best day of everyone's life. You know, they have problems with their kids' daycare or they don't have a camp for them, and there's a breakdown with the car and whatever's going on.

But when you're surrounded by the right people, um, I. It makes a huge difference in the, in the mindset and yeah. Where you can take the day and the difference you can make without a doubt. Well, and you're also blessed, uh, you know, I'm kind of biased 'cause I've been going to, to our, your location here next to me at Bayfront for, I, I think maybe like 13 years.

Thank God, I think. Yes. God bless you. Thank you. So well. I, I love it there, you know, and I've been blessed, I, you know, have kind of circled through people is they've evolved over the years. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. But, you know, um, loyalty is one of the things that I'm most proud of is a person. It's bitten me in the butt sometimes, but definitely not with your location.

So, but you know, you have such incredible people there. Mm. And they've been very, very loyal. Mm-hmm. And you know, I even write in my book about one of them actually. Yeah. Which is really cool. That was special. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Who, um, you know, just always, it, it's like a, just, you know, and she just does the best that she can possibly do Yes.

At her role. Yeah. And stands out as, you know, she can shampoo your hair and turn it into a spiritual experience. Yeah. It's true. You know, I mean, truly. Yeah. And, um, little Miss Maria, you know, and it's, it's a, a different thing. That's a true example to me, of someone who embodies joy and enthusiasm for what she does.

Oh, so much so, yeah. It doesn't matter the role. Yeah. It doesn't matter the role. Yeah. But she. Turns it into an experience that you have so many great people that, you know, embody that same capability. Yeah. Mm-hmm. But there's a unique edge that she puts Absolutely. Forthly Yes. That, you know, there's a true joy about it.

Yes. And, and you feel that. Yeah. And, you know, that makes, uh, you know, me and probably many others, you know, draw her out and, oh, did we get Maria today? Yeah, yeah. You know? Yes. I know. It's like one of my, a special thing. Yeah. I'm sorry I can't come in for my hair today. 'cause that's not a Maria Day. It happens.

So it happens so many times, which is such a, an awesome thing. Yeah. 'cause yeah, she's, she's authentically. Genuinely, authentically concerned about everybody who she meets every single day. Yeah. She just never, never turns that off. Yeah. It's always so on her. Exactly. And that's exactly it. You feel that. And when you're authentically living in your truth and Yeah.

You know who you are, people connect with that so much. Yeah. You know, and I mean, she's my girl. That's, that's, that's, you know, what I look for and to think that an experience like that, and I'll tell you there's a, a spot, you know, that I go to, to get, you know, vegetables sometimes. Mm-hmm. Which I do write actually about in the book as well.

Yeah. And, you know, another experience like that is, um, she is, works at the counter and, you know, checkout. Mm-hmm. Works at checkout at, at this special spot and does her job unlike anyone. Excuse me, does her job, um, unlike anyone I've ever seen before. Mm-hmm. You know, just takes such great care and puts everything in and double ties the bags, and double bags them, you know, when you've got tomatoes because she's concerned that they're gonna roll all over your backseat of your car, you know?

Yeah. Yeah. It's just that enthusiastic energy for their role, no matter what it would be. Mm-hmm. And, you know, how can you not like, connect with that and respect that and admire that, because it doesn't matter what we're doing in the world. Yeah. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if you're the richest person in the world or not.

Mm-hmm. You know, it's how are you leaving an impression with whatever you're doing at the time. Mm-hmm. That's the biggest thing. Yeah. How'd you get to be like this? Your, your mom, you talked about your mom and the, the, the journal that she left. I think she left you the journal. Yes. Oh, boy. How, how would your mother de how would your mother have described you?

Um, well actually in the journal that she left, boy, you, I feel like I'm sitting with Barbara Walters and trying to, to, to get tears up. Um, the journal that she left, she actually said in the journal that she said that the thing that she was most proud of was my giving heart.

And ah, you know, she always said, no characteristic in life could be more important than a giving heart. A good in giving heart. Mm-hmm. And cheese, Robert. Um, you know, I, I believe that in every fiber of my being and I, I to believe that it's one of those, um, things that has bit me in the butt, much like my loyalty, um, over the years to the point of, you know, when I care about someone, you know, an employee, uh, who really aren't employees to me, but it doesn't matter, I care hard.

Mm-hmm. And with all I've got. Yeah. And, you know, there's dynamics that, you know, we all get hurt in life. And I've had so many of those and I think I've just learned now that I. Tiff, you know, you can't control other people. Mm. You can't control how they act and react to you. You know, when I give and care a lot, you know, and people are not used to that, they question it.

Mm-hmm. And they can look at it as inauthentic. Mm-hmm. You know, when in fact it's quite the opposite. Yeah. You know, it's just me, it's just who I am. Yeah. But you know, there we are in a, a cynical world now. Mm-hmm. And a lot of people don't know how to approach that. And I'll tell you, really the greatest challenge that I've seen is when you give and care a lot and people are in your world for a lengthy period of time, and they get very used to that.

And then for whatever reason they're re removed from that dynamic. You know, they don't know how to take that. And because I don't think that they quite. Recognized, you know, and then it becomes, they, they didn't even know it was that way. They just became the way that it was. Right. They weren't even aware of that.

Right. Right. Right. Yeah. And then when it's removed, then all of a sudden to justify and quantify their stance, they have to, you know, think negatively. Mm-hmm. Uh, about you or the organization or whatever to mm-hmm. Make themselves feel better. Yep. Mm-hmm. And, you know, they can posse, you know, with like kind dynamics or what have you and mm-hmm.

You know, it, it's all, when in fact you're the commonality, you know, to that crying. Jeez Louise. That's not how I planned. Hopefully. Well, hopefully, hopefully. It's okay. Geez, it's beautiful. No, that's great. You did that to me with your book. You know, you, you. Touched the soul and touched the heart in that way, you know, you 'cause you, because of your authenticity.

And that's just so Well, thank you. Special. When, when you're auten, when you're people are real and authentic and you know, tears or whatever, they are happiness and joy. It just, yeah, that's what people get attracted to. That's why you have a lot of loyalty around you. That's why you create the web that you have around you is that there's, people are attracted to that.

That's a, that's a gift that the, the blessing that you have that, oh, well thank you. No, it's something that, thank you. I think we can all learn from, um, our, the bad things that happen. You know, I believe that, or I, I believe it in every fiber of my being because I'm witness some true testament to it, is that it's always just such a huge setup for.

A major comeback or something really great on the other side. Hmm. And you know, I've learned, and I've given myself, uh, every time I have a challenging day or something really, you know, bad happens, I always give myself that day to feel sorry for myself. Mm-hmm. And then I have, have trained myself to get up the next day just ready to approach it, you know, kind of putting aside the, the things that have happened.

Yeah. And, you know, try to approach it fresher. Yeah. Um, but I will say that training yourself to get up in the morning and not be focused on the distraction of the phones and all of that is really what will transform the course of your day. Yeah. So, you know, being in gratitude. First and foremost, taking time to clear your mind and your brain and not get caught up in, you know, I went to school for broadcasting and you know, one of the things that they teach you, although I got sidetracked in life, but, um, always the way, right?

But one of the things that has always stuck in my head is that infamous line. If it bleeds, it leads, you know, and, and that's the approach to broadcasting. And I feel like it's the same thing with social media, you know, what gets put out there, it's always that if it bleeds, it leads whatever is going to draw and get people to read it or react and, you know, and it's typically something negative.

Yes, it is. Yeah. And, you know, so if you start your day in that, I mean, think about that. If you're starting your day just looking at things that are bleeding. Yeah. That's how you're leading your day. Yeah. You know, you have an ability to choose and lead it in an entirely different way and not let it take control of you.

Yeah. And that's what's happening right now. I see that in the majority of people, you know, that we're encountering on the day to day. Yeah, of course. Yeah. You know, so what a blessing and a gift it is to know and have the ability to turn yourself and your mental capacity around and create your day. Yeah.

You're always gonna have things coming at you. Yeah. But boy, do you react to them differently when you have taken the time to focus on you first? Yeah. To focus in on gratitude and then just find the little joys, you know, think about this. This is like one of my favorite things to do. I, I still go out to ave uh, you know, pretty much every weekend I'll go out.

I take my little dog out in her stroller because she's got little legs. She can only walk so far. She's got a St. Stroller and she loves, so she'll walk as far as she can go, and then I put her in, we stroll and we've got this whole routine. But, but speaking of joy, it brings her so much joy. Yeah. But, um, what I do is I leave my phone in the car and we'll walk those three miles, and all I do is, some days I'll just focus in on just gratitude.

I just walk thinking of all the things that I'm grateful for, you know, during that entire walk. But then there's some days that I just go around spotting like the little joys, you know? Mm-hmm. Just walking and seeing, you know, the other day. Somebody had drawn like little smile faces on the walkway, you know, all the little chalk smile faces on the walkway.

Mm-hmm. You know, you'll see little white feathers, you'll see birds going around. You'll see this alligator, you know, laying on the side of the hill. And, you know, eyeballing some, you know, suspect, uh, that it's going after. You know, you see all these things that we don't normally notice anymore mm-hmm.

Because we're so distracted. Yes. And you're looking at your phone. Yeah. And to just take those times to find the little joys, you know, the rabbits chasing each other mm-hmm. On the side of the walk path, you know? Yeah. That hearing the little, um, birds, obviously baby birds in a nest, in a tree chirping like crazy, you know?

Yeah, yeah. Things that we just don't even notice anymore. And I can guarantee to you, your mindset is entirely different by the time you're done. Hmm. When you're just taking those observations. Yeah. And it, it's just we have lost sight of all that. Yeah. And, you know, we have to take that time. You know, when we were young, you know, we're, we're both of the same, uh, age range, but you know, when we were young, think about it.

Summer break, you got up early in the morning. We were outside all day playing, using our imaginations, creating things. We did not come in until dark. Yeah. Yep. You know? Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Really dark. We didn't even have street lights where I grew up, so it was dark. That's when, that's when you had to be home.

Yeah. Yeah. And you know, you just don't see any of that anymore. Yeah. And we just used our imaginations to create all day. Yeah. You know? Yeah. You'd spend time fishing in the little pond where mm-hmm. You know, it didn't matter what it was. We used to go catch little turtles. We had a little pond way back behind our house.

We'd go catch little turtles and then we would, we probably somewhere there's these giant turtles that have little nail polish on their, on their, because that's what we would do. We would put little nail polish. So we knew which was which, you know, but there's no imagination anymore. You know, my grandmother, which I write about in the book, she would, she was brilliant, brilliant woman.

Um, so creative without even like, really realizing it. To keep us busy when we would be over there, you know, in the fall, she would give us this, I mean, just think about how brilliant this is. She would go get her three rakes out of the garage. All of them had different color sticks. She would let us, my, myself, my sister, and my melody.

She would have us pick a color and she would make that fun. Okay, girls, you get to pick a color. She would say, okay girls, you get to pick a color. And so we would like fight over which color, you know, rake. We would get, we'd get our colors and she'd say, okay, here's what we're gonna do. Should have a stopwatch.

I'm gonna give you each quadrants of the backyard. Tiff you get here, Monica, you get here, melody, you get here. I'm gonna time you, you have 30 minutes to take all the leaves in your quadrant and rake 'em up to make an imaginary house. So you make an imaginary house, you build imaginary furniture out of these leaves, and you have 30 minutes to do it.

And then I'm gonna judge 'em, and the winner is gonna get a, a treat. So we would feverishly break up all these leaves and we'd make an outline of little houses and we'd make, I mean, nobody could visualize this, but right. But we'd make sofas and chairs and tables, and then she would tour each of our houses and we'd have to tell her, this is our kitchen.

This is the living room. This is the bedroom. And see grandma, you know, see, this is the bed. And look, grandma, I made pillows out of, you know, these big green leaves that you know. And so she'd have us use our imaginations, and then she would judge us and she'd give us, you know, a little bowl of Oreos or whatever, you know?

Mm-hmm. To the winner. But then what she would do is she'd wait to give us the treats until the end, because then she would time us. To rake whoever could rake and make the most bags to collect the leaves. Mm-hmm. You know, would win. And, but we'd all, ultimately we win in the end. 'cause she'd give us all, but she would time us to do that.

And what did she do? She got her entire yard raked without us being none the wiser and everything bagged, you know, in the quickest of time. So, you know, she was always, her front yard would be loaded with dandelions, you know. Mm-hmm. Back then they didn't weed the same way. Yeah. She'd give us each a cute bucket.

We could pick the color of our, you know, sand bucket and she'd give us quadrants and get would time us. To go pick the pretty yellow flowers out of her yard and then she'd count 'em. Whoever got the most dandelions would win. Yeah. And she'd get us to weed her yard. Isn't that awesome? Those are some of your best memories too.

And she was, she was getting work done. It was, yeah. It was brilliant. We would get candy and, you know, it was fun and we'd move so fast and Yeah. You know, we could bend over better than Yeah. Right. You know, but, but just think about the, think about that from a business perspective now, you know, there's always multiple ways to skin a cat.

Mm. You know? Mm-hmm. You can create something and fill a void with energy and enthusiasm in a way that nobody else has. Mm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. You know? Yeah. Yeah. So it, it's the same thing as what my grandmother was doing. You can do that with business too, in so many different ways. Yeah. And people tend to just do, okay.

Here's another example I'll give you think about. Okay. For us here in Naples, let's talk from our example. We have the Christmas parade, we have parades. Every downtown area has parades. Mm-hmm. And what do they do businesses from around that area and you know, high school bands and what have you. But more importantly, the businesses, they sign up and they put together a float.

They may decorate a car or truck, maybe they throw an inflatable in the back and you know, toss out the same candy that you get from Sam's Club. Mm-hmm. Everybody does the same thing. Right. And you go through those parades and you're excited to participate. You know, it gives a little energy and enthusiasm to maybe the office to participate or, or not.

Yeah. Yeah. You know, maybe they're like, oh, we gotta do this again. Yeah. But here's the thing that people don't think of and companies don't think of. It's one thing to participate and support the town, but it's an opportunity. You have 10, 12,000 people captive. In that one little stretch mm-hmm. Of that parade route, you have the opportunity to do something remarkable so that they remember you over and above every other float there.

Because what's the goal? The ultimate goal is you're participating because you're a business. Yes, you wanna support the town, but what else? You want the town to support you. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. So that's why you're participating. But they can't support you if they don't remember you. Yeah. I 90% of the floats.

You probably don't remember right from the Christmas parade. Mm-hmm. If you do something remarkable that's different than what everybody else is doing, you know, for us, we've been blessed that, you know, our floats have like one eight years out of the last 10 that we've participated, you know? Mm-hmm. And we're so thankful because we use our imaginations and we really try to come up with something that's outstanding.

Mm-hmm. That's remarkable. You know, the, the last last year we did it for the Grove, um, a new construction development because we were kind of between brands. We weren't totally merged with Serhant mm-hmm. At that point. So do we go red? Do we go blue? We didn't know. So we just did the grove. We passed out thousands and thousands and thousands of oranges around the parade route.

Hmm. Uh, well that's remarkable. Yeah. Everybody was like, what? You're giving out oranges? Yeah. They were clawing over themselves to get the oranges. The year before we gave out 10,000 red glow sticks. We became like the biggest boy band out there. Everybody. We had to have security. 'cause we did that a few years in a row and we had to hire off-duty police to walk with our float because we get mobbed.

Oh God. Legit mo, how awesome is that, that mobbed by all these kids and all of that stuff. And then people are calling afterwards, do you have any of those left? Oh my god. You know, one child got one the other didn't. So then we've got people coming into our office for a few weeks afterwards, you know? Oh, awesome.

So it's, it's creating things that. Are ultimately remarkable. Yeah. That are different, that are imaginative. Using your imagination, filling voids, doing things that make you and your company stand out over and above all the others. Yeah. Interrupting the ordinary. Yeah. Interrupting the ordinary. We're status quo.

It's just not enough anymore. No, it's not. Yeah. You know? Yeah. So. We're blessed to live in like the best area. Yeah. Mm-hmm. And we're safe here. We're, you know, we've got Sunshine 95% of the time. Oh yeah. Yeah. You know, which helps uplift you. Yeah. It's, you know, we've been voted the best of the best for about everything from Best beaches to Healthiest Town to live.

Yeah. To, you know, we have nothing to complain about here. No. No. We really don't. No, we don't. We don't. No, we don't. There's nothing. It's nothing. It's crazy. It's a blessing and a gift. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So all we have to do, oh gosh. All we have to do is catapult off of that. Yeah. We have the most solid foundation of probably anywhere in the country.

Oh, no question. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's so pleasant built. So let's just build our businesses off of that. Yeah. You know, special, happy, joyful. We're all gonna have struggles, we're all gonna have challenges. Yeah. But the difference is we don't have to approach 'em that way. Yeah. You know, we can choose just like when you, uh, went in your cabinet and.

Found the little Debbies that you could sell. Yeah. Oops. I got myself into a lot of trouble. I was grounded for life. I love that. But interrupting the ordinary, there you were again. Yeah. You know, just great story y Well, you know, it wasn't enough to have just a lemonade stand. I had to sell Kool-Aid.

Exactly right. Yeah. And petal my mom's little Debbie snack cakes. Yeah. That's great. I love that story. Yeah. Yeah. I, I was grounded for life many times over the course of my one time, I'll give you this quick story. My area, um, you know, where we grew up, it was an allotment is what they called kind of little communities, although we were very far apart from all the homes, it was called an allotment.

Mm-hmm. And, um. Our area was doing an allotment, like yard sale, and I wanted to participate so desperately, but my mom was, you know, she had to work a full-time job and she was kind of overwhelmed and said, no, don't you know, Nope. Don't wanna do it. Too much work. So I took it upon myself to every day when she left for work, it was during the summer, I started going around the, the house and collecting saleable items, including going through her closet and pulling like suits and things that she would wear for work that I didn't care for.

And I started, I started compiling those and putting them under the steps to our basement downstairs and started like pulling all of our folding tables and snack trays and putting it all down there. And then I started pricing everything. So I, I worked for like almost two weeks, uh, on this little yard sale.

Because I was gonna sneak and have it because as she would have to leave for work at seven o'clock in the morning. So I thought the yard sale started at eight. Perfect. Mm. So the day of the yard sale comes and I would save change 'cause she'd have me run in the grocery store and pick up a few things.

Mm-hmm. And I'd sneak the change and hold onto it leading up to the yard sale. So I would have change to start. And the day of the yard sale comes, I'll never forget it. I was up early, I'm dressed, I'm under the covers, fully dressed. I had had all my wears under, under the stairs. She leaves for work, I open the garage door, I set up our tables.

I had had everything priced and ready to go. Oh my gosh. And um. I was open for business. I had my change. I had it wrapped in a belt around my waist, little fanny pack. I was ready for it to go. That was the one day that she decides to come home for lunch and her work. That's great. She was in downtown Akron would never come home for lunch because we were like 20 minutes away.

Somehow she suspected, oh wow. I will never forget that day as long as I live. She pulls in the driveway. We have Agra had a gravel driveway. That sound of the car pulling in the gravel as I'm seeing her. Oh, I can hear it. And I had customers when, when she pulled up and two people were negotiating these six little Hummel grandfather clocks that I had put in the yard sale and put a quarter.

Okay. My, so you can only, I mean to me, I thought they were ugly. You know, we need to sell this. I was just trying to make money for school clothes. That's all I was trying to do. Mm-hmm. And so she pulls up as they're negotiating with me on the Hummel clocks, and she sees this and goes in the house, I'll never forget.

And she's standing in the doorway to the garage and you get the Tiffany Marie Oh, that's the trouble word. Get in here. Yeah. Every time the middle name's, that middle name. Yeah, you're done. Oh, you were no good was gonna come at this. And oh, I was in so much trouble. She made me stop the negotiation.

Luckily I couldn't find the key to wind them so the people didn't, decided that they didn't want them. 'cause you know, they needed a little winding. Hmm. So she put the garage door down, closed my. Closed my little yard sale, made me take her around the house and show her the things that I, you sold, sold what was missing.

And unfortunately, I had sold several of her work suits. So yeah. Fortunately for you, but unfortunately for Oh, oh my gosh. Grounded for life. It, it happens so many times. So, you know, my imagination got me into a lot of trouble, but Yeah, yeah, yeah. What are you gonna do? You know? But it followed you and it worked.

Did today. Yeah. Right. It actually helped you throughout. Yeah. I have to believe she's looking down on me now saying, all right, I'll give you a little bit of a re Yeah. I love that you picked out the suits you didn't like for her that you wanted to sell was perfect. Well, I figured you're doing her a favor.

I was doing her, I was doing her a solid. Yeah. Alright, a couple, just for fun ones here. Mm-hmm. Uh, if life was a movie, what would be the opening soundtrack? For you. Oh. Mm-hmm. Without a doubt. Without a doubt. Roar by Katy Perry. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Because the start of the song starts out, I used to bite my tongue and hold my breath scared to cross, you know, cross a boat and make a mess.

Mm-hmm. And so I sit quietly. Mm-hmm. Um, I'll be politely. And that's how it starts out. And I feel like so much of my life was that way, just trying not to make waves. Mm-hmm. You know, just kind of trying to fit in and find my way, you know? Yeah. I was a little girl growing up without a dad at a time that that wasn't common.

Mm-hmm. And I didn't wanna stand out any more Yeah. Than I already did. Mm-hmm. I didn't wanna be different. Yeah. I wanted to blend in. Mm-hmm. And so that song, you know, has always, it's kind of my fight song. Yeah. So now, you know, it's like, ah. I got the eye of the tiger. Yeah. And darn it, you know, I'm just going to do this.

Mm-hmm. And roar to the best of my ability. I get it. Totally. And yeah. So yeah. That's yours. Yeah. I, I, I could see it. Yeah. If you could have dinner with any historical figure, who would it be and why? Oh, a historical figure. Um, I would say, you know, interestingly, probably one of them would be Zig Ziglar. Hmm.

Truly. Yeah. Uh, you know, he did have play a pivotal role in my life. Mm-hmm. And, uh, just in his teachings and things. Mm-hmm. I think if I could choose another one, if I could choose two, a historical figure, um, I would choose Wayne Dyer. Yes. I would love to spend time with Wayne Dyer. Yeah. You know? Yeah. I, I, there's a list for sure, but those are two top of mind.

Yeah. Love those. Yeah. Yeah. Books or podcasts that you're currently into. Oh, well, um, one of my absolute favorite podcasts is how I Built This by Guy Raz. Um, fantastic for any entrepreneurs out there. It is the best one and has gotten me through some dark times. Hmm. Because every entrepreneur has challenges and incredible challenges on their journey.

And that, you know, listening to him speak to some of the most successful and prolific businesses of our time and to know the struggles that they went through and the challenges that they went through, just give you a little bit of hope and it just gives you a little motivation to just keep going. Yeah.

One more day. One more day. Yeah. Yeah. Um, so that for sure would be one of 'em, uh, for a book. I've got a lot. Um, my absolute go-to favorite is, uh, well, it was, um, use what you've got and other business lessons I learned from my mom by Barbara Corcoran. Mm-hmm. Because that transformed my life and that caused me to do something that I've never done before.

And that was reach out to her after I read the book. Oh yeah. And that was 20 some years ago. Wow. So that was before, you know, she was ever on Shark Tank. Mm-hmm. And I, her book just resonated with my brain. I reached out to her and that's what started the journey. Hmm. Just, and, uh, you never know. Yeah. You know, if you don't take the risk.

I, I, I've never emailed somebody like that before. Right. And look at where it got me. And not only that, she worked on the book with a gentleman by the name of Bruce Littlefield, and here I am 20 some years later. Oh. And that's who I collaborated with my book on. Mm-hmm. You know, I mean, who could have ever dreamt or thought that that would even be the case?

Yeah. Wow. And, you know, I remember reaching out to both of them after I read the book because it just had such a huge impact on me. The book has since been modified and, um, with new things added and updated, so it's now called Shark Tails. Oh. So if anyone's looking for it now? Yeah, that's what it's called.

Shark Tails. Oh, okay. Good. Well, I'll have to, yeah. Get the revised version. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You'll have to e evolved version, I guess is what it would be. Yeah. It, it's just, it's really very, very good. Very good. Mm-hmm. So what legacy or impact do you hope to leave behind through your work and contributions?

Uh, um, the legacy would be, I would love, I would love for it to be that she loved hard and with all she had. Hmm. That's beautiful. Wow. Everything. Yeah. I love that. I love that. Love that. Yeah. Yeah. That's cool. Yeah. Wow. Yeah. That one hit. I get it. I get it. Totally. Yeah. Yeah. You're doing that. Thank you. Thank you.

What's your coffee order? I'm sorry. What's your coffee order? Uh oh. I will tell you, I, I drive through dunking a medium hot coffee with sweetened French vanilla and cream. That's Dunking girl. Yes. I'm a Dunking girl. I am not a Starbucks girl. Yeah. Good. Okay. Yeah, I've never, as matter of fact, I don't think I've ever been to a Starbucks.

Is that right? Mm-hmm. Really? Yeah. All all Duncan. All Duncan, is that the, was that an Ohio thing or is that just something that just No, no. I just, I don't know. Yeah. I just, I, I think I connect more with the orange and pink Yeah. Than I do with the green. Uh, what's your guilty pleasure? Uh, little Debbie's or something else?

What's your food wise? Yeah. Or just in general? Yeah. Oh my God. I am a pizza girl. 3000% pizza. I am a pizza addict that cures whatever ails me. I get it. If I'm having a rough day. Yeah. Fri it's, and Fridays, I, that's my pizza day. Yeah. You give yourself that grace pizza. My pizza, it's my reward for getting through the week.

I get a pizza. I'm very, um, uh, very simple in that, you know, my, the things that bring me joy are so simple. Mm-hmm. So simple. And that's what I find the most joy from, or just the little pleasures. And pizza happens to be one of those. Yeah. Yeah. That's a celebratory one. I like that. Yeah. I have no desire for, you know, you hear people talk about, oh, I wanna get, you know, such and such purse, or, you know, I wanna get such and such car, whatever.

I have no desire for any of that. Yeah. Yeah. I, I don't aspire to anything like that. Yeah. You know, I just, I, I don't look at it from that perspective. Right. I just aspire to, I aspire for freedom in my life, you know, freedom of choice and ability and capability to do what I want, you know? Yeah. Yeah. I desire for just peace in my head and heart.

Mm. And just love the ability to give it and the ability to receive it. Yeah. Without judgment. Yeah. Without ex expectation. Mm-hmm. Just authentically. Perfect. Yeah. Last question. Yes. What do you love about your life? Oh, moments like this. Mm-hmm. You know, moments that I know that I have been given special gifts for whatever reason.

Mm. And the ability and opportunity to be able to share them with even just one person. Mm. That's what I love. Yeah. Yeah. What a gift. What a blessing. Wow. Thank you. Yeah. You're not supposed to make me cry. My gosh. I didn't know that this was gonna be here. Go the touch. I can't thank you enough for sharing your stories, for being Thank you for having me.

It's beautiful. Thank you. There's a lot about you here from the lessons from your mom, from your incredible creativity in the business. Um, thank you from your deep belief and hope and connection. Your journey shows us that growth requires courage, resilience, and a touch of sparkle. From pickleball paddles to candy jars, to partnerships with visionaries like Ryan.

Uh, if you're listening and you wanna learn more about Tiffany's approach to life in business, do check out that book. It's, it's, it's awesome, the nth degree. Uh, and if you're feeling inspired today, remember Tiffany's mantra, never lose hope. And to trust. Always in faith, not fear in ways. Always. Always in.

Always. Yeah. Always, always. Yeah. Beautiful. Thank you. Well, thank you neighbor for sharing, for sharing this time. It really means the world to me. Yeah. I did not know that I would be emotional, so Yeah. Not, not what was expected, but appreciated that we could share something. So brave and authentic. Yeah, real authentic.

Yeah. Yeah. Just it's something that has uh, been the genesis of me doing this podcast is getting the good souls in our community, you know? 'cause, 'cause like you said, the. People are drawn to what's negative, what's wrong, what's, yeah, the catastrophes in life and not enough is put on the good and the good souls in our world.

So yeah, you're one of those good souls who we're blessed to have in our community, so love it. Thank you again, Melanie. Well back at you. Yeah, awesome. Back at you. Thank you so much. Of course. Yeah. Touch. So you know, it's getting busy, open happiness. Take a sip and I take a second to taste it, and I'm really starting to think that.