I’m a grandfather and a husband. I have 9 grandchildren and 5 children. I also have 1 great grandchild. I’ve been in real estate for 38 years. I moved to the Pensacola/Gulf Breeze area 31 years ago. New homes, new home developments, and residential real estate are what I specialize in. My team and I have done about 6,000 transactions. The key is to serve others. Like Zig Ziglar said, “You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.” I love living on the Gulf Coast in Woodlawn Beach, the central part of Gulf Breeze. I raised my children on the sugar white beaches of Pensacola Beach. Fitness, exercise, and spirituality are very important to me. I love my family and I love what I do. I wouldn’t call what I do work, because I love it so much. Also, I’m always pretty intense, and really busy.
Q: What community do you represent for the Faces Of?
Gulf Breeze and Navarre, as well as Pensacola
Q: Please tell us about your family.
I’m married to a wonderful woman whom I love. I have 5 children, 9 grandchildren, and 1 great grandchild. I love them all. My mother is still alive and lives close by. I have brothers and sisters, as well as nieces and nephews. Most of them all live within 14 miles of my house and I love that.
Q: From where do most of your clients originate?
At this point, it’s hard to know exactly where they all come from. I’m a constant marketer. I market in every direction. A large portion comes from referrals. We also work on having a lot of TOMA(top of mind awareness), which gets us leads as well. We believe in multiple bench stools, which means we have 7 or 8 different real estate income streams. No matter what the market does, up or down, we serve the seller’s just as easily as the buyers. I don’t believe in a bad market. It’s just always shifting from one direction to the other, whether it be the buyer’s advantage or the seller’s. Because of that, depending on what way the wind blows, we market that. We don’t wait for the shifts to occur. We’re constantly moving and shifting.
Q: What is something unique about your community?
It’s a very friendly, diverse, beautiful place. Where I live tends to be cooler in the Summer and warmer in the winter than the other side of Pensacola Bay(Pensacola). The Gulf winds push storms up north, resulting in inclement weather typically stopping at the Bay. It has a small town atmosphere. I can go most anywhere, Lowe’s, Walmart, wherever, and I see someone I know, or multiple people, every time.
Q: What are 2-3 of your top 10 favorite movies?
I’m not sure if it’s socially acceptable right now, but I would say my favorite is the Jerk. I also like the Wizard of Oz. Those two are definitely my favorites. I also love Blazing Saddles. Those are movies that I can watch over and over.
Q: Who is your favorite college sports team?
Dallas Cowboys is my favorite professional football team and Nebraska Cornhuskers would be my favorite college team. I also like the Redwings for hockey, and the Bulls and Celtics for basketball.
Q: What attracted you to the faces of project?
I liked the long term strategy of community building. I felt like it was a perfect fit for me, because I have worked hard on building relationships in all 50 states, and every city. I was president of North Florida CRS. I’ve been vice president of Florida of the Woman’s Council in the state of Florida. I’ve served on 250 committees. With doing that for so many years, I feel like relationships are the key to what I do. The Faces of is just a natural way to do it. I like that it’s set up so that it’s not just about trying to make money. It’s about building relationships. I like the idea that it’s cross-collateralizing, whereas I’m building relationships, I can build them in every area, and I search out people for TFO in areas that can be sphere’s of influence that I don’t yet have. I have found that as I do it, the people that I want to connect with, already have relationships with others that I want to connect with and establish a relationship with. They open up so many new doors that I never expected. Like I told Brian, I was a believer, now I’m a knower. I will never not do it. It’s currently another arrow in my quiver. I can’t say that it’s made me anything yet, but I know it will long term.
Q: Who is the most famous person you have met?
Oh my gosh, so many. Edgar Mitchell, Lynn McTaggard. Cleve Baxter, Wayne Dyer, Walter Sanford, Brian Tracy, there are so many. I’ve met a lot of senators and representatives from the states and United States government.
Q: For our partners in real estate: Have you ever shown a house you believe to be haunted?
Yes; I’ve definitely been in and shown houses that are haunted in Pensacola for sure. Also, in Iowa in some of the old farm houses. I remember showing some houses there that were old railroad houses with about 20 bedrooms in them. I definitely felt they were haunted. I felt the energy.
Q: What are two things or characteristics that you have that have made you successful in your career?
Drive and an insatiable curiosity and desire to learn and grow. The meaning of life to me is freedom, growth, and joy.
Q: What makes you happy?
I am happy. It’s hard to say what does. Obviously, my family does. My meditations, my spiritual journey, my family, but things don’t really make me happy. I already am happy.
Q: What is the most beautiful place you have been in this world?
Maui for sure. Abolutely amazing.
Q: What are 2-3 of your favorite books?
That’s a hard one. Well, certainly the Bible. As A Man Thinketh, that’s a pretty important one. Also, Three Magic Words and any of the Conversations With God books. I must have 100 books that would be in that catagory.
Q: What else should people know about you?
I live by 4 steps. They are; Pray without ceasing and be here now in the moment. Two is, I keep my heart open and follow Christ. Step three is I FEEL for Spirit to give me the next right action. I watch for the signpost or examine the buffet of life. Step four is I relinquish the attachment to the outcome. Because you can only intend to cross the bridge. If it’s backed up, it’s not something that I can control. I also believe that one of my roles is empowering others. I like helping people find their own path.
