Adam Contos - Start With a Win

This isn't a book about the mechanics of buying and selling real estate. This is a playbook to help you learn how to lead—to lead yourself and lead others. In turn, that leadership creates business and opportunities to do business because people understand that leaders are problem-solvers who get things done and done right.

Each day is a new opportunity to either choose to win or opt to embrace fear and approach the day with “I can't.” Which viewpoint will you take?

Business is no different. With the onset of the pandemic and quarantine in early 2020, the real estate industry, like so many others, all but shut down. Transactions screeched to a halt. RE/MAX had two choices: do nothing and ride it out, or address the challenges and look for opportunities. We chose the latter. Many franchises and agents relied on artificial intelligence data to assess the marketplace and on virtual tours and video links to connect with clients. These leaders found a way to make it happen instead of sitting on the sidelines and watching their businesses fall apart.

In these pages, I'll share with you the playbook to create your own wins. You'll learn the fundamentals and actions required to gain the necessary skills and confidence to transform your life. I'll share stories with practical applications and suggestions on how you, too, can start with a win.

Life is a series of missions—experiences and interactions—that shape who we are and how we respond to situations and people. Whether positive experiences or learnings (the not so positive experiences), missions lay the framework for the playbook of life. Every mission matters; it's an opportunity to learn and grow. When we think about a mission's specifics, we are psychologically training ourselves in how to respond to a similar situation in the future. Within each mission we take actions, which are the solutions to the challenges. Those solutions become part of our playbook of life.

This book will help you learn why dealing with your emotions—especially fear—often sets the playing field for a mission win or not. I'll share how every interaction and every mission is a learning experience. I spent two years on the streets of metropolitan Denver, Colorado, as an undercover narcotics cop buying drugs and perfecting my marketing skills. Those missions amounted to my own sales and marketing class, which I refer to as Narc Marketing 101—some of the best sales training possible.

Start With a Win will also help you better understand the importance of sharing your knowledge and allowing others to share their wisdom with you. As an off-duty deputy sheriff working a side job, I met my business mentor in the middle of the night on a golf course under construction at the base of the Colorado mountains. He helped me understand step by step how to be a great business leader. I'll share that same knowledge with you. Each chapter will include insights as well as personal stories and takeaways you can use in the quest for your own wins.

Don't let anyone tell you, “You can't.” You can! Now let's head out on your journey.

“A rut is nothing more than a shallow grave.”1

Look in the mirror and make the decision to say, “I can.” Congratulations, you're on your way to win No. 1.

Whatever you want to accomplish in life, no matter the naysayers or the doubters, the roadblocks or the fears, the uncertainties or the challenges, the first step to achievement is believing in yourself. In business and your personal life, you make the conscious choice to win—to succeed—every day. It's the decision to commit to taking control of your life and your happiness.

That's not motivational-speak; it's the truth from a real-ologist. Your success depends on believing the “I can” instead of coming up with excuses to justify the “I don't have to.”

I know; I changed my own attitude and approach and went from being a street cop in a sleepy suburb of Denver, Colorado, to being a deputy sheriff, SWAT tactical commander, and now CEO of a large multinational public holding company, the real estate industry giant RE/MAX.

The first step to a win is to make your latest excuse your last one .

A win isn't defined by dollars and cents or a destination; it's a journey—a series of missions or experiences—that, done right, bring happiness along the way. No matter the business or the situation, a win is simply a set 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 and whatever your business or circumstances, you have the power to transform your life and the lives of those around you. Each of us can choose to lead by overcoming challenges, creating solutions that help others, and then turning those solutions into consistent actions. The framework is the same whether the challenge is to win a football game, close a sale, or build a business. Leaders create a plan, include great people, turn the plan into actionable steps, and influence the execution of the plan. Leaders create opportunities and grow businesses, too, because other people recognize leaders who solve problems and get things done.

A win really is that simple—challenge, attitude, actions. So often we complicate winning and make it overwhelming. Instead, step back and understand the simplicity. We can win, and you can, too.

Lack of action = lack of results ( always)

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. The choice is ours.

“There are two types of people who will tell you that you cannot make a difference in this world: those who are afraid to try and those who are afraid you will succeed.”

—Ray Goforth, executive director of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace

Every day is a new opportunity, a new choice to start again. Faced with challenges, you can choose to turn that day into a win. Or you can opt to excuse yourself, embrace fear, and think instead, “I can't,” “no way,” “but,” “impossible.” Of note: The word “but” is the beginning of a rationalized excuse. Don't use it.

It's like the bison and the cow. Bison instinctively know that charging into a storm gets them through and out of the weather more quickly, while cows turn away and drift with the wind, sometimes dying in the process. 2

In business it's no different. Think positively, embrace your inner bison, and head into the storm—face the problem head on and go for the win. The true test of leadership—your own and others’—is how you respond when you get punched in the face. Do you step up, stay present, deploy kindness and gratitude, and face the challenges with confidence and transparency? Or do you hide?

THE WINNING APPROACH

In the face of a challenge, winners:

Step up.

Stay present.

Deploy kindness and gratitude.

Face the challenges with confidence and transparency.

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, many companies questioned their survivability. The real estate industry came to a grinding halt. We couldn't physically go into other people's homes; transactions stopped abruptly. Some homebuyers in the middle of the purchase process even found themselves homeless.

But the lockdown presented new opportunity for those people, companies, and leaders willing to dig deeply into the challenges and find ways to progress, accelerate, and adapt. RE/MAX recognized that our business had taken on a life-essential urgency for some people. We had two choices: do nothing or devise new ways to address the roadblocks, take action, and overcome the problems.