Adam Contos - Start With a Win

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“Leadership is leadership whether you are leading a SWAT team or a battalion, or are a CEO. The lessons Adam shares in this book are real-life experiences. He's a leader who has been on the battlefield, faced the overwhelming odds of competition, and come out as a leader people want to follow.

Adam is an individual with unbounded curiosity and is willing to look in many directions to be a better leader. He understands how believing in yourself and starting a step-by-step program of small steps ultimately gets a person to incredible success.”

— Dave Liniger, co-founder of RE/MAX

“With the publishing of Start With a Win, Adam Contos delivers the ultimate guide on how to make every day count. Singer Joan Baez says, ‘Action is the antidote to despair.’ Adam's thesis centers around making that action count with a belief in yourself and a focus on attitude, perspective, and mindset.”

— Ted Rubin, social marketing strategist, speaker, and co-author, Return on Relationship

“Adam's story is the quintessential American hero story—from protecting and serving the public, to protecting and serving a publicly traded company. Some will call it ‘luck’ but those of us who know, know that Adam got where he is today by putting in the work no one else was willing to put in. I'm honored to call him a friend.”

— Ryan Stewman, CEO of Hardcore Closer, sales and marketing expert, and author, GCode: How to Stay Super Focused in a World Full of Distractions

“Adam Contos is a strong and confident communicator whose determination, boldness, and successes have helped him truly understand what it means to be a leader today. The same leadership capabilities enabled his successes across diverse and distinctly different career paths—street cop, SWAT team leader, and now RE/MAX. Listen to what he has to say.”

— Barbara Kreisman, PhD, Professor Emerita and Associate Dean of Daniels College of Business, University of Denver, and partner, Intergistic Solutions Management Consulting

“In the remarkably actionable and relatable Start With a Win, Adam Contos reframes the outdated view of success as an often daunting ‘destination,’ to a series of achievable ‘wins’ that propel you toward your self-determined goals. Contos offers a real-world roadmap to move past the inevitable challenges we all face, while providing frequent dopamine hits to fuel your journey. It's a fresh take on leadership that deserves attention. Highly recommended.”

— David Avrin, president, The Customer Experience Advantage, and author of The Morning Huddle and Why Customers Leave (and How to Win Them Back)

ADAM CONTOS

Copyright © 2022 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is Available:

ISBN 9781119807070 (Hardback)

ISBN 9781119807094 (ePDF)

ISBN 9781119807087 (ePub)

Cover Design: Wiley

Cover Image: © Magic marker; © Ron Dale/Shutterstock, arrows/circles;

©TWINS DESIGN STUDIO/Shutterstock

To my wife and best friend, Kelly. I love you forever .

Look in the mirror and make the conscious choice to say, “I can.” Congratulations. You're on the way to your first win.

Whatever you want to achieve in business and in life, the first step is believing in yourself. You choose to take control of your life—to succeed. That's not motivational-speak; that's real life. Wins begin with believing “I can” instead of embracing the excuses why you cannot.

I changed my own attitude and approach, and went from being a two-time college dropout to a street cop, deputy sheriff, SWAT team leader, and now CEO of a large multinational public holding company, the real estate industry giant RE/MAX.

A win isn't defined by dollars and cents or a destination; it's a journey—a series of experiences—that, done right, brings happiness along the way. No matter the business or the situation, a win simplified is a group of answers to these questions:

What is the challenge?

What is the necessary attitude to get started?

What action or actions are necessary to overcome the challenge?

Whoever you are, whatever your circumstances, whatever your business, each of us has the power to transform our lives and the lives of those around us. We can learn to lead and strive to win in all we do; or we can take the easy way—follow the herd, accept our circumstances, and never achieve our potential. Whether the goal is to improve relationships in business or in our personal lives, the choice is ours to make every day.