What does it take to win in the face of adversity? Join Mark Trachtenberg, Chairman and CEO at Silk Title, as he hosts an inspiring conversation with NFL legends Drew Bledsoe and Teron Armstead.
Discover how these incredible athletes navigated the challenges of elite competition, from unexpected job changes to the isolating reality of injuries. Learn about the mental fortitude and dedication required to remain at the top of your game, even when circumstances shift dramatically.
Explore the parallels between athletic success and business acumen, and how the lessons learned on the field can translate to overcoming obstacles in any professional arena. This discussion offers powerful insights into resilience, preparation, and the true meaning of "team first."
#WinningThroughAdversity #SportsBusiness #Leadership
Discover how these incredible athletes navigated the challenges of elite competition, from unexpected job changes to the isolating reality of injuries. Learn about the mental fortitude and dedication required to remain at the top of your game, even when circumstances shift dramatically.
Explore the parallels between athletic success and business acumen, and how the lessons learned on the field can translate to overcoming obstacles in any professional arena. This discussion offers powerful insights into resilience, preparation, and the true meaning of "team first."
#WinningThroughAdversity #SportsBusiness #Leadership
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:01Please join me in welcoming to the stage, Drew Bledsoe, Mark Trachtenberg,
00:08Chairman and CEO at Silk Title, Teron Armstead, and
00:13our own Diego Sanchez, President at Housing Wire.
00:30So I guess I bring the average height on the stage way down, gentlemen, so glad to have
00:35you here.
00:37Mark, why did you decide to bring Drew Bledsoe and Teron Armstead to the gathering?
00:43I think a lot of it is just the circles, a lot of us traveling, get to meet new people,
00:48get to experience different things, and, you know, taking the business side of it and bringing
00:54athletes into it has been something that's been very special to me over the last few
00:58years and correlating what they've done on the field and to get to where they got to
01:02and how you can correlate that into business.
01:05So, you know, meeting them was a pleasure and obviously bringing them here was something
01:08really special for myself and for the gathering.
01:12Yeah, we're going to talk about winning through adversity and I think these guys are really
01:17good to talk to because, you know, they were amazing players, but they had to work through
01:21some challenging times.
01:23And Drew, we'll start with you.
01:24You know, I'm a Boston guy, huge New England Patriots fan, so really excited to meet you.
01:31But you had a really interesting experience where you were having this elite career as
01:37a quarterback for the New England Patriots.
01:41And then while you're injured, Tom Brady comes in.
01:44Who?
01:47And takes your starting job.
01:49Can you walk us through that experience?
01:51Yeah, man.
01:51You know, look, when you're the leader of a team and you're part of a team, you always
01:59say, OK, hey, it's team first.
02:01You know, the team's more important than I am.
02:03And that's an easy thing to say when things are going well, when you're the franchise quarterback
02:08and everything's on your side.
02:09It's a harder thing when it doesn't go your way.
02:12And this young punk kid out of Michigan takes your job and you can't get it back.
02:18Tom didn't understand what the term backup meant.
02:21That means you're supposed to go sit the hell back down after I get healthy.
02:25And he didn't get that piece.
02:27But that's when the gut check happens.
02:29Did you really mean that it was team first or were you just saying that?
02:32And so for me, that meant that I had to, you know, embrace a different role and support
02:38the team, support Tom and was able to do that.
02:43And most importantly, you know, when I got up to brush my teeth in the morning, I could
02:47be I could be proud of that dude because I did the right thing.
02:49But it was not easy, certainly.
02:51Yeah.
02:51I mean, and you had that experience of coming in for a game and helping to win on the way
02:57on the way to the championship.
02:58So you did stay mentally prepared.
03:00Like, what was your daily regimen so that you were ready to come in and shine?
03:05Oh, you know, look, you know, when you're playing ball, I mean, it's a replacement game.
03:11If you're not prepared all the time, then not only are you letting yourself down, but you're
03:16letting down your team, your region, your town, you know.
03:19So, you know, I was I was ready to rock and roll.
03:22I just wish Tom had stayed hurt so I could have played in the Super Bowl also.
03:26You know, I came back in for the AFC championship game and helped us get to the big game.
03:30And then, you know, and then he was then he was back out there in the actual game.
03:34So, Teron, similar question for you.
03:37You know, as an offensive lineman, there are ups and downs.
03:40It's a it's a position where you get hit every single play, basically.
03:45So tell me about the tough stretch of your career, toughest stretch of your career and
03:49how you work through it.
03:51Well, Tom Brady didn't steal my job.
03:53I got I got that.
03:55I got that.
03:55No offense, Drew.
03:57My most of my adversity, honestly, through my career came from injury.
04:00So just dealing with trauma to the body and a lot comes with that in the NFL.
04:07You're taking away from the team in a sense.
04:10So it's a it's a feeling of isolation where you're not putting in the same work as these
04:14guys.
04:15You sit in a training room all day while the other 60 guys get ready to go out for practicing.
04:20You never see anybody you don't have conversations with them.
04:23You're only just working on his injury.
04:24So it's a it's a period of isolation.
04:27You're not helping the team and you start to get the outside noise from fans and that
04:34that conversation can get loud and it can affect your your play.
04:38It can make you start to question yourself and your ability.
04:41So injury has been the most challenging part of my career, but fighting through that adversity,
04:47doing everything that I can to get back on the field, be an aid to the team, help us
04:52win.
04:53Yeah.
04:53I mean, you're still clearly in great shape.
04:56How are you?
04:59I mean, I don't have a lot of room up here.
05:01They put us a little close together.
05:03So how do you how do you maintain like what's your date?
05:09What is your daily regimen to stay in shape now that you're no longer you're no longer
05:14playing, but, you know, how do you maintain that edge?
05:17Yeah.
05:17So I retired at three hundred and fifteen, three hundred and twenty pounds and now sitting
05:22at two seventy trying to come down lower like I carry that weight for my job, for my occupation.
05:29So to be able to stop Miles Garrett and Michael Parsons and those, you know, big, strong guys.
05:34But now I don't I don't need that weight anymore.
05:36I think it's about longevity now.
05:38So I'm just trying to get as healthy as possible, be around for my for my kids and the foreseeable
05:44future.
05:44Amazing.
05:45So, Drew, the injury that took you out in 2001 was was not a typical football injury.
05:54Can you talk about that injury and the comeback that you made and how you did that to have
06:01another five seasons of productive football?
06:03Yeah.
06:03You know, for those that don't know the story, I'll just very quickly I would I was very close
06:08to death.
06:10They rushed me to the hospital, put a chest tube in.
06:13I was bleeding out internally at a liter an hour.
06:16So I was in the hospital for five days and then with my blood being recycled and put back
06:22in.
06:22Thankfully, we had some great docs in Boston that chose not to rip my chest open because
06:27that would have been a whole different whole different thing.
06:30You know, but look, whether it's ball or business or life, you have to embrace adversity.
06:40You know, and I know Mark's going to touch on what's going on in the real estate and housing
06:44market currently.
06:47One of the hardest things to deal with, whether it's ball, whether it's business, honestly,
06:53one of the hardest things to deal with is success because success can make you complacent.
06:59Adversity can be a great teacher.
07:01It can be very formative, both business, personal, team wise.
07:08And when that adversity comes at you, how you deal with that is what ultimately defines you.
07:14Right.
07:15And so for me, you know, living through that injury, first of all, it was like it was the
07:20first serious injury that I had had.
07:22And, you know, you kind of have to get over this football player thing where you're 10
07:26feet tall and bulletproof and impervious to anything.
07:31But coming back, number one, I had more appreciation for what I got to do and the privilege that
07:37it was to be in that position.
07:40I learned that it was finite.
07:41And that's when we had to start formulating a plan for what's next.
07:45I mean, you know, because I was at that point, it was my ninth year, kind of thought I was
07:48going to play for another decade.
07:50And I was like, oh, man, this might not go on forever.
07:52And so I started to put together a plan for what the rest of life was going to look like.
07:56So there were a lot of things, you know, a lot of positive things that came out of that
07:59adversity.
08:01But the first part that you have to get over is just embracing that adversity and using
08:04it for growth.
08:05Yeah, I love that.
08:07So, Teron, the offensive line is, can be a little bit of a thankless position where people
08:14I told them, thank you all the time.
08:16Trust me.
08:17Quarterback, quarterback.
08:18Talking last night, I paid for every damn dinner.
08:20I paid for bottom gifts.
08:22I did.
08:22That was so there was thanks coming from the quarterbacks.
08:24I promise you that for sure.
08:26Quarterbacks thanking you fans.
08:27Not so much.
08:28They're not really paying attention to you unless something goes wrong, right?
08:31So you were an all-pro in that position.
08:35How did you, like, prepare yourself for that kind of role where you're not getting those
08:41thanks every day?
08:42And how did you build that confidence so that you did become an all-star in your role?
08:48For the guys up front, it's all about the work.
08:50And it's all about others.
08:52So being an elite teammate is priority.
08:56So, like Drew said, we get the love from our quarterback, our running back, receivers,
09:02our skilled position.
09:03But for the most part, man, the reward comes from your development, your growth,
09:08your progression as a player, how you improve from day to day, the work that you put in,
09:14the sacrifices you make, because it shows.
09:17It shows up.
09:18You can tell the guys, the offensive lineman, who's putting that work, who's really trying
09:23to expand their game and master the craft, and you can tell the guys who's just getting
09:26by.
09:27And it becomes glaring.
09:29The guys just start to separate.
09:31And I came into the league out of a small university, Arkansas Pine Bluff, highest draft pick ever,
09:39and I didn't know shit.
09:41I didn't know nothing.
09:42I had to really scratch and claw and make a name for myself, and I finished my career five-time
09:48Pro Bowl All-Pro.
09:49I put in the work.
09:50Yeah.
09:51Putting in the work.
09:52Sir.
09:54Drew, you...
09:54Yeah.
09:55Yeah.
09:55We've been clapping.
09:56Yeah.
09:57Putting in the work.
09:59Drew, you referred to it when you were talking about your injury, you know, what comes next?
10:03And so I'm going to ask both of you this question.
10:05I'll start with you.
10:06What has come next after playing football?
10:10We started a wine business back in my hometown where I grew up.
10:14That was the plan coming out, and when we did that, the winery is called Double Bag.
10:20There it is.
10:23Always working, right?
10:25Always marketing.
10:26But, yeah, I went back to my hometown, started a wine business that now has grown into a real
10:31business, you know, 65 employees and five different, or excuse me, six different vineyards
10:35now, and so, yeah, it's been cool.
10:39And from the beginning, it was never going to be a hobby.
10:42This was always going to be a real business, so we really wanted to build something meaningful
10:45and impactful back in this little town that I grew up in.
10:48Well, what was neat backstage was watching you light up, really, like when you were talking
10:54about this winery and it being in your hometown, did you think that you would have a second
11:00act like this that you're so passionate about?
11:03Oh, I wanted to.
11:04You know, look, there are a lot of stats about athletes when we retire, about, you know,
11:08not having much success, and I really didn't want to be one of those cautionary tales.
11:14You know, what we got to do as a blessing, you know, as my childhood dream, as long as
11:19I can remember having dreams, that was my dream, was to be an NFL quarterback.
11:23But one of the downsides is that, you know, I played for 14 years and I was still only
11:2835 years old.
11:29You know, when I was stepping away from ball, there's still a lot of life left, and you've
11:35got to have a place to put all that drive, all that energy, all that competitiveness,
11:40all of that stuff that allowed you to be successful as a player.
11:43You have to have a place to put all of that, otherwise you end up going crazy.
11:46And for me, that was building this business, and it's been really gratifying.
11:54So, Teron, you're staying in shape for your second act.
11:57You're down from, you said, 320 to 270.
12:00Sure.
12:00What are you doing in your second act?
12:04I've gotten into the media, the media space, podcasting, broadcasting.
12:07I have my own YouTube show, The Set on YouTube, if you guys want to set with Teron Armstead,
12:13subscribe.
12:15Also, broadcast for ESPN, CBS, NFL Network.
12:19And honestly, in the business world, I'm trying to figure it out.
12:22I'll be vulnerable enough to let you guys know that.
12:26I'm trying to figure it out.
12:28Meet Mark, meet Drew, and really tapping into their business mind and their experiences,
12:32their failures and successes that they have had.
12:35Meeting all of you.
12:36I'm dating all you guys.
12:38We're going to talk.
12:39I want to know your story and how you got to where you are.
12:42Mark, it's inspiring to me.
12:44It's motivating to me.
12:45So, I'm trying to figure out my next step.
12:48I like that.
12:49So, Mark, let's pull you in.
12:51I feel like there are lessons that we can take from what Drew and Teron have been talking
12:56about and apply it to our current housing market.
12:59What do you think some of those lessons are?
13:01Number one, I think we self-inflict our own injuries by the decisions we make.
13:06And we've got to be honest with them.
13:07I mean, at the end of the day, it's just like being an injured.
13:09What are you going to do after that?
13:10When you make a bad decision, how are you going to pivot from that decision?
13:13What are you going to look at from your team aspect of it?
13:16Like at the end of the day, as a leader, I'm not going to make every single decision.
13:19So, they've got to be able to make that decision.
13:21You've got to empower them to do it.
13:21You've got to empower them to understand when they do get injured, you're here to support them.
13:25And we're in this right now.
13:26The market is all over the map.
13:28If we really look at it, it's like, okay, we thought we were coming out of it.
13:31Then we kind of hit this Iran war thing.
13:33And then we're back in a bad spot.
13:35And hopefully, we're going to get back out of it again.
13:37But control where you can control, right?
13:39And I think it's one of the biggest things that, as leaders, we've got to figure out how to do
13:43a better job of on a daily basis.
13:45I think there's a lot of noise.
13:46They went through it in their leadership roles on their teams.
13:49There's a lot of noise.
13:51And I think sometimes people get enamored by that noise rather than focusing on the fundamentals.
13:55And I think when you take away from what these guys have done and knowing them as long as I
13:58have, it's fundamentals.
14:00They didn't get there just because they wished to get there.
14:01They got there through discipline.
14:03They got there through consistency.
14:04They got there through respect.
14:06And I think at the end of the day, our industry needs a lot more of it as opposed to
14:09what you read in the headlines a lot of times.
14:11And you see a lot of the negativity out there a lot because it creates headlines.
14:15But it doesn't necessarily mean we're working together to solve what the real issue is.
14:19And I think that's what you can really learn from these guys is they both had great careers, both had
14:22adversity.
14:23And how do you apply that into what we do today on a daily basis?
14:26Yeah, I heard from the two of them, daily habits seem to be really important, especially when it's a challenging
14:34time.
14:34If you're injured, you've got a backup quarterback who's too big for his britches.
14:41What are your daily habits to be successful in business?
14:47You know what?
14:48Everyone thinks it's like, I've got to wake up early.
14:49That's not really the case.
14:50It's actually I want to sleep so I can actually be productive and effective.
14:54Depends on what was happening in that day.
14:56Right?
14:56Like, all right, I just want to know I can get that six, seven hours of sleep.
14:59I want to plan.
15:01Right?
15:01If you look at it, like a lot of people don't execute.
15:04They have a plan, but they don't know how to execute.
15:05Right?
15:06So I think it's the fundamentals of understanding what it is your teams need.
15:09If you're running multiple teams, what is their desires?
15:12Right?
15:13Figuring out, okay, you know, I'm not going to sit here and say I wake up every day and do
15:16X, Y, and Z.
15:17I don't.
15:17Every day is different.
15:18Right?
15:18It's different than what these guys went through, and that's the other thing, too, is being adaptive to what's happening
15:22in that given day.
15:23I think the discipline is making sure whatever that plan is, you execute on that and you help your teams
15:28execute on that plan.
15:29And you also understand, hey, there's going to be a roadblock.
15:32It's kind of like I always say driving to California from Boston, I can go west and I'll eventually get
15:37there, but if I go south, I'm going to get there, too, but I'm going to create a lot of
15:40other headache and I'm going to spend a lot more money.
15:41Same thing happens in business.
15:43Right?
15:43And I think we all have to realize at times we're our own distractions, especially leaders, because we have a
15:48goal and desire that doesn't necessarily equate to exactly what our teams are doing and want to do.
15:52And therefore, we've got to figure out how to steward them into what it is that we're all trying to
15:57accomplish, and it's not what I want to accomplish, it's what our teams want to accomplish, listening and being a
16:02good, effective person and being there for them.
16:05So there's no regiment that says, okay, what is it?
16:07Those are the fundamentals that help you get there.
16:09But you can't say, I do this at 10, I do this at 11, because our world doesn't live like
16:13that.
16:13And I think it's being adaptable, too, and that's what I've learned a lot through the sports side of it
16:17is every day is different.
16:18Every play can be different.
16:20You can go into it with, I know this is the play I'm supposed to run, and all hell breaks
16:23loose, and you've got to figure out, okay, how I'm going to adapt to that day, that moment, and still
16:28get to the end zone.
16:29So I'm going to give everyone a heads up that we are going to have a Q&A session, so
16:33think about questions that you might want to ask to the gentleman on stage.
16:36And I've got a couple more questions now.
16:39Mark, you frequently partner with former sports stars in business.
16:48What's your thinking behind that?
16:52Motivation.
16:53I think a lot of it goes down to helping.
16:56I sat in Arizona with these guys out at an event called PAC, and there's a lot of opportunity us
17:02as business people can help an athlete.
17:04One of the things I heard out there, which was very interesting, is their confidence was so high on the
17:09field.
17:09The minute they retire, they don't even know what to do.
17:12They don't have the network juice set of 14 years playing in the league.
17:14You're not really out there gaining the exposure that us as business people started at 21, right?
17:20We're 14 years ahead of the athlete who just retired, right?
17:24So I think some of it is why I've gotten involved in the sports arena is I want to see
17:30that statistic change, right?
17:32NFL is one of the worst for bankruptcies next to the NBA, right?
17:36And I think one of it is if you're, I feel as good about helping people.
17:40And helping people doesn't always mean somebody at the bottom of the bottom.
17:42Helping people means, okay, how do we lift other people up that have been successful and help them, having them
17:48help us lift everybody else up too?
17:49So it's more of a giving back thing to me and learning.
17:53You know, one thing I'll say that I know our team at the winery, our leadership team, they get, I'm
18:00sure they get tired of me talking about sports.
18:02But, you know, everything you said ties straight back into sports, right?
18:06You know, you've got to have a great plan.
18:08You have to execute with precision.
18:11We talk about fundamentals all the time in our business.
18:14And, you know, we were talking last night, you know, in the NFL, one of the craziest things in the
18:20NFL, when we're talking with T-Stad last night, a lot of NFL coaches don't teach fundamentals, which is just
18:28batshit crazy to me.
18:29You know, but you watch the teams that have continued success.
18:33They are actually teaching fundamentals.
18:34But in business, you have to plan.
18:36You have to execute with precision.
18:38You have to have great fundamentals.
18:39You have to communicate and communicate effectively, both in real time and in long-term planning.
18:49Communicate what the plan is so that you have a chance to execute it.
18:52You've got to put the right teammates in the right roles.
18:56You know, you could have put me at tackle, man.
18:58I would have tried my ass off T-Stad, but we would have lost, right?
19:02But you've got to have the right players in the right roles, you know, and then you've got to embrace
19:06that adversity when it comes.
19:07So it's the same stuff that determines your success or failure in business that also determine your success in football.
19:19So, Mark, we're in our fourth straight suboptimal spring housing market.
19:25Yep.
19:26Hopefully, we're turning a corner.
19:29There's some good data that I'm sure Logan will share with folks later on in this event.
19:35But where do you think we go from here?
19:38You know, I think people are kind of bummed out that this wasn't – it seemed like it was going
19:42to be a solid one, and maybe it's only going to be mediocre this year.
19:45I mean, I think you're still going to have consolidation.
19:48I think there's still – we were saying that last year.
19:50I think there's going to be more of it now because of certain directions of it.
19:54And I think that, you know, everybody wants to talk about AI and how cool it is and everyone's doing
20:00it.
20:00And I call bullshit on it all the time.
20:03I mean, at the end of the day, it's there.
20:04People are getting there.
20:05But let's be real.
20:06You still have humans.
20:07It's not taking over every single human job in our industry.
20:10And I think you just got to work towards that.
20:12And, yes, I think you're going to have the efficiency side of it.
20:14I think that scalability becomes part of that.
20:16I think the whole market's changing rapidly.
20:19How we did things, even in a bad market five years ago, is not how you're going to do it
20:23today.
20:24And I think there's marginalization issues that are coming up.
20:27There's obviously compression on that side of it.
20:29So I think those that are actually ahead of it years ago are going to be the ones that are
20:34going to be very successful in the years to come
20:36because there are some serious headwinds that we're going to be facing.
20:40And it's not just a market condition.
20:41It's just actually how it's being produced.
20:45So, Drew, I mean, again, you talk with passion about this business.
20:50Do you want to grow the winery business?
20:52Do you want to get into other businesses?
20:54Like, what's your path, do you think?
20:57Yeah, no, right, we're kind of trying to decide that right now in real time, you know.
21:02What do we want to be when we grow up?
21:03It's been almost 20 years, and we're trying to figure out what we want to be when we grow up.
21:07Right now we run a good business that's primarily based on direct-to-consumer sales.
21:12We don't distribute very much.
21:14About 80% is sold direct to the consumer.
21:16We're really great at that.
21:17But right now we're kind of trying to decide if we want to make the push and become a major
21:22national brand.
21:24And I don't have the answer to that yet.
21:26Right now we're running a good business, a good small business that's profitable.
21:31We have fun with it.
21:32We don't want to screw that up.
21:34But there's also a chance for us right now because there's a wine recession right now.
21:41There's consolidation in our world.
21:43There are people that are going out of business.
21:45We're winning by being up, you know, a few percentage points year over year where others are down, you know,
21:51double digits.
21:53And we feel like there's an opportunity right now to actually gain market share as we come out of this
21:58thing.
21:58The problem is, you know, for us, the cycles are so long.
22:03You know, even a wine business that's going out of business still has three to five years of inventory.
22:07So we need them to fail faster, quite honestly.
22:14But, no, we're, you know, I've dabbled in other things.
22:18You know, thankfully I have, you know, the professionals actually, you know, watching out for me and keeping me out
22:24of trouble with all the harebrained ideas they come up with.
22:27But I really enjoy running our business.
22:29It's a good business.
22:30We employ a lot of people.
22:32We try to treat them the right way.
22:34You know, our farm workers are employed year-round.
22:37They have health benefits.
22:37They have retirement benefits.
22:40You know, we really take good care of our people.
22:42So I'm passionate about it.
22:43It brings me fulfillment.
22:45And at the end of the day, I like the product also.
22:48At the end of the day, we get to drink wine.
22:50So I'm trying not to screw it up at this point.
22:54I'm just trying to stick to what we're doing and run the best business that we can.
22:57Eating your own dog food, right?
22:59What's up?
23:00Eating your own dog food.
23:02100%.
23:02They say in the, I think it's in the, the drug dealers say you're not supposed to get high on
23:07your own supply.
23:08But, man, I like our own wine, dude.
23:13I love that.
23:14All right.
23:14Well, let's open it up to anybody that has questions.
23:17I've got some more questions if there's an awkward silence and people don't have questions.
23:22I think, oh, there's one right there.
23:24What is the genesis for you to make the wine?
23:27What do you think of that?
23:28Yeah, the transition to wine was the most natural thing.
23:31We got into the league.
23:33We had a couple bucks in our pocket, and we started drinking some good wine and collecting wine from around
23:37the world, you know, Napa and Bordeaux and all over the place.
23:39And discovered in the most real way that my hometown was making some of my favorite wines in the entire
23:45world and wines that could stand up amongst the world's best.
23:50And so that became kind of the natural transition to go back to this little town I grew up in
23:54and start a wine business there.
23:57And our first vintage was Top 100 Wines in the World.
24:00So, you know, we're actually doing real stuff.
24:03Let's go, right?
24:04Yeah, yeah.
24:07And so, yeah, there's a lot of water under that bridge, but that's the genesis.
24:11It really needed something to do, like wine.
24:14And my little hometown had the natural connection there.
24:16So it was a serendipitous confluence of events for us that allowed us to do it.
24:24I think I saw a hand up back there.
24:27Yeah.
24:28Is someone running a mic?
24:31Actually, we can.
24:32Yeah.
24:33I have a question about mindset for those younger athletes that are – oh, okay.
24:40They're giving me the microphone.
24:41For younger athletes that are wanting to go to the next level, the mindset hacks that you guys learn to
24:48go to the next level
24:49and how that would also apply to entrepreneurs, particularly in this kind of a market.
24:54She said – you said younger athletes, so you're talking to me, not Drew.
24:57Yes, obviously.
24:58Just being clear.
25:00I mean, athletes that want to get to that professional level, like that – no, I got you.
25:06I got you.
25:09Go ahead.
25:09Take it.
25:10Yeah, no, for sure.
25:12I think the mind and the heart, like your mind is – we have this thing called the NFL combine
25:22where they take all these measurables,
25:24arm length, hand size, and all these things in it.
25:27To me, it doesn't tell a story.
25:29It doesn't tell you what you're getting as a player or from that player.
25:33It's the mindset and their heart, their willingness to win and go through.
25:38The mind is the biggest separator.
25:41Once you get to the NFL, these are the best athletes in the world.
25:45These are the best football players in the world.
25:46But then we have the elite of the elite, the guys that go beyond just being in the same space
25:55with the best in the world.
25:56And in order to separate yourself, you have to be comfortable being uncomfortable.
26:03You have to respond to challenges and adversity.
26:07You have to just have the willingness to go there, to push your limits beyond what anybody's told you you
26:16would be.
26:16You set your own goals and your own standards and you chase them and you reach them and you set
26:24them higher and you go chase those and you reach those.
26:26It takes a different mindset in order to separate from the masses.
26:34No problem.
26:35Drew, you have any thoughts on that?
26:36No.
26:36I was perfectly said.
26:37Yeah.
26:38You know, in the NFL, you're amongst the best athletes in the world.
26:44Biggest, strongest, fastest dudes in the world.
26:45But the guys that separate are the guys that have the mindset, the work ethic, the intelligence to rise above.
26:52Oh, here we go.
26:53We got the shameless plug.
26:56Okay.
26:57All right.
26:57So, look, you know, I know in the real estate business, you know, it's what is it, like 9%
27:04or 10% is repeat business.
27:06But something like 60% or 70% is referral business from your current clients.
27:10This QR code takes you to, we have a corporate gifting program that would be ideal for closing gifts for
27:21those of you.
27:22And, by the way, when we do it, it's branded.
27:25It'll have a box with your name, your company, branded right on the box with our wine.
27:31And it's just a great leave behind as a closing gift for your clients.
27:38So, shameless plug, thanks for throwing up the QR code for me.
27:41I appreciate it.
27:43And I promise you, you'll like the wine.
27:46Also, come see us in Walla Walla.
27:48My little hometown is pretty damn cool, man.
27:50It's like a little step back in time.
27:54You know, the wines are fantastic.
27:55The food scene's amazing.
27:57But it's pickup trucks and farmers.
27:59You know, it's not, if you've been to Napa, it's like going to Napa, but going back in time about
28:0440 years.
28:04It's not all dot-com billionaires.
28:09It's farmers and artists and all of that.
28:12So, come see us in Walla Walla.
28:14You'll love it.
28:14We'll show you a great time.
28:16Mark, before we break, you've been working on some things that I think are making you happy.
28:22Do you want to give us a preview of some things that you're working on right now?
28:25Yeah, I'll let the cat out of the bag.
28:27So, July 6th, we're launching Happy Brands.
28:29It's going to have a bunch of conglomerates underneath that.
28:33I'm going to roll up probably 17 of my 39 companies into that right now.
28:37So, it's really looking at being the Amazon marketplace of financial services.
28:41So, that will be launching on July 6th.
28:43So, I'm excited about that.
28:45Why is it called Happy Brands?
28:46Because the JGI, PPUI, we're putting the AI in Happy.
28:49And I was watching Happy Gilmore one night.
28:51And I thought our industry was so unhappy and how miserable it is to get a loan.
28:55And I wanted everybody to go to their happy place.
28:57And I woke up the next day and took down Happy Brands.
28:59Love it.
29:00Love it.
29:00Thank you, guys.
29:01This is great.
29:02Thank you so much.
29:03Appreciate it.
29:03Thanks, man.
29:06You want to pass those out?
29:07Yeah, you got some Mikey.
29:10Oh, yeah.
29:10There you go.
29:11We'll fight till it's over.
29:12So, we put our hands up like the ceiling can't hold us.
29:17Like the ceiling can't hold us.
29:20Now, can I kick it?
29:22Yeah, I'm so damn grateful.
29:23I grew up really one of girlfriends, but that's what you get when we're in.