49. Tri-Cities Influencer Podcast featuring Cari McGee

Tri-Cities Influencer Podcast with Paul Casey

Michelle Oates:

A promise tomorrow is worth a lot less than trying today. I am Michelle Oates and I'm a Tri-Cities influencer.

Paul Casey:

But really this is the core philosophy of what I teach in time management, and that is manage your time around your values and vision. This is your foundation for everything else in time management.

Speaker 3:

Raising the water level of leadership in the Tri-Cities of Eastern Washington in Tri-Cities Influencer Podcast. Welcome to the TCI podcast where local leadership and self-leadership expert, Paul Casey interviews local CEOs, entrepreneurs, and nonprofit executives to hear how they lead themselves and their teams, so we can all benefit from their wisdom and experience. Here's your host, Paul Casey of Growing Forward Services, coaching and equipping individuals and teams to spark breakthrough success.

Paul Casey:

Thanks for joining me for today's episode with Cari McGee. Cari is a realtor with Keller Williams and I asked for a fun fact about her. She has very vivid dreams that she still remembers, but Cari, you're going to have to tell the story.

Cari McGee:

Okay. Well, a lot of grownups forget their dreams or they think of childhood is when you really have your dreams. But here I am as an adult having pretty vivid dreams. The other day I had a dream that I was married to my accountant, and that's kind of funny, but what's really funny is that I wasn't married to my accountant. Instead of being married to my husband, I was married to my accountant in addition to being married to my husband, and he just liked being married to me. He traveled a lot, I understood in the dream. And he said that when he was home, he just liked to be married to me.

Cari McGee:

In the dream, I'm thinking, I'm like, "Okay, this is pretty serious. And if I get caught, how am I going to explain this?" Like, sometimes if somebody gets caught in a crime syndicate or whatever, they can say, "Oh, I was brainwashed or this..." Nothing like that happened. Like, why was I married to two people at once? I have no idea. So thankfully I woke up.

Paul Casey:

Thankfully I woke up.

Cari McGee:

And that was not my reality.

Paul Casey:

That's a good T-shirt message as well. Thankfully, I woke up.

Cari McGee:

Yes, totally love that.

Paul Casey:

Especially in these trying times that we're in, maybe we're all going to get to put that on our shirts.

Cari McGee:

Oh, right, right. That's a good message.

Paul Casey:

Well, we're going to dive in after checking in with our Tri-City Influencer sponsor.

Preston House :

Hi, my name is Preston House and I'm the local owner of Papa John's Pizza right here in Tri-Cities.

Jesus Melendez:

I'm Jesus Melendez, vice president and commercial lender with Community First Bank and HFG Trust.

Preston House :

When I moved here in 2009 with my family from Boise, Idaho, I knew I wanted to move from a franchise to a local business owner. I've been working with Papa John's since I was 16 years old. So when it came time to open my own location here in my own community, I knew I needed some financial guidance from an organization who understood my needs as a small business owner.

Jesus Melendez:

Small business owners often have a lot on their plate, employment and retirement plans, payroll, bills. Our mission is to become your financial partner for life and is motivated by providing people in our community like Preston, with all the information and support they need all under one roof.

Preston House :

It's really simple. No matter what I need, all it takes is one phone call, no automated prompts, no call waiting. It's just a local business, serving another local business.

Jesus Melendez:

For more information, how Community First Bank and HFG Trust can help you get back on track. Visit wwwcommunity1st.com. That's www community one st.com.

Paul Casey:

Thank you for your support of leadership development in the Tri-Cities. So, Cari, I think we met years ago, our children are the same age, both kids, same age, both a male and a female child, same grade, Wiley Elementary, Enterprise Middle School.

Cari McGee:

Yes. Hanford High.

Paul Casey:

Hanford High, right?

Cari McGee:

Yes. And our daughters are these amazing graduating kids.

Paul Casey:

Yes. Yes. 2020 kids, which is sad that they don't get the fanfare or some of those rituals that all the other seniors get.

Cari McGee:

I know.

Paul Casey:

Man, but we're making the best of it.

Cari McGee:

Absolutely. Same here.

Paul Casey:

So help our Tri-City influencer listeners get to know you. Tell us through a couple of your career highlights that led you to where you are today.

Cari McGee:

Okay. I began in real estate in 2004. And funny story, I decided to get into real estate. I had been in retail for years, but then I decided to get into real estate because there was somebody else that we knew that was in real estate. He was very successful, but I didn't understand why he was very successful. So I thought if this person is successful, I can probably be more successful.

Cari McGee:

So I borrowed a computer because in those days everything was not online yet, but you had to run a computer program to do your coursework. So I borrowed a PC because we only had Macs and it took me hours and I got it finished. And then I've been selling real estate full-time since 2004.

Paul Casey:

Wow. Why do you love what you do?

Cari McGee:

Oh, my gosh. It is a different job every day, number one. Number two, it's such a privilege to be a part of that particular aspect of a person's life because where you live obviously is hugely impactful to whether you move into a particular house as a kid or as a grownup, you're living there. Right? And I know if I had not been a Christian before this, I would be a Christian now because I've seen the way God works and orchestrates things like the money will come in at the last minute. Right? Or a house will be delayed closing because somebody else is supposed to move to town because they're the real owners. It's weird, and it's such a privilege to be a part of plans for people and what's going on for them. It's really, really cool.

Paul Casey:

That is really rewarding. So throughout that journey, you've hit obstacles to success. I'm sure.

Cari McGee:

Yes.

Paul Casey:

What is one of the biggest hurdles you've overcome in your career?

Cari McGee:

I would say that sometimes there have been people that either they see what I'm capable of and are scared by it or threatened by it and try to kind of rein me in or they don't see it and I haven't seen it either. And so I have not progressed or done as much as I could have/should have because of those other things happening. Does that make sense?

Paul Casey:

Yeah. What kind of people try to rein you in?

Cari McGee:

Well, there's a book called The Millionaire Real Estate Agent by Gary Keller, famous book, awesome book. And in 2004 or five, I think, my husband gave it to me as a Christmas present and I read it and I was so excited. I went into my broker at the time and I said, "Oh my gosh, I just read this book, and it's amazing. And I'll implement these programs and plans and I'll make a million dollars and it'll be great." My broker at the time said, "Cari, you're a wife and a mom. You really should just focus on that."

Paul Casey:

Ooh, wow, ouch.

Cari McGee:

Yeah, I was like, "Ooh." Well, I'm kind of mad at myself though, too, for... I mean, I didn't say you're right, but I didn't say you're wrong, either.

Paul Casey:

But it's something well up inside of you like, "I'm going to show everybody."

Cari McGee:

A little bit. There's all this... Yeah.

Paul Casey:

You have that competitive juice in you.

Cari McGee:

Oh, I totally do. I'm super competitive. Super competitive.

Paul Casey:

Well, leadership is difficult. Being an entrepreneur is difficult. What's one of your biggest ongoing challenges of being a realtor, and what really stretches you to the limit sometimes?

Cari McGee:

Change used to be my big thing, but now I've learned to embrace it. So, yay change!

Paul Casey:

Yay.

Cari McGee:

But I think that understanding that not everyone always looks at things the way you do, right? Everyone comes from a different perspective and a different background. So if I am like, "This is the way it gets done," and sometimes I'll be so far down the path and I'm like, "Where are you? Why are you not here with me?" And they're like, "Well, I still need to understand step four when you're at step eight." I'm like, "Oh, okay." That's hard for me is to not understand that everybody is where I am in the thought process.

Paul Casey:

They're at a different place in the thought process.

Cari McGee:

Exactly.

Paul Casey:

Well, you said you're better with change now. Was there a time where... Tell us about that.

Cari McGee:

Well, for years, any sort of change, I would just be like, "Oh, this is awful. This is ick." I want everything to stay the same as it was, and let's embrace the status quo and let's not change things. But three years ago, I needed to make a pretty significant change. And I kind of looked around when the dust settled and I was like, "Oh, this is better. This is better than where I was." So change can be good if you stop fighting against it, and instead say, "Let's see where this takes you."

Paul Casey:

So, that was your mental shift that you had to make, and it sounds like it stayed with you, too.

Cari McGee:

Oh, 100%.

Paul Casey:

That it can be way better even though it's going to be painful for a season.

Cari McGee:

Yeah. 100%.

Paul Casey:

Awesome. Awesome. Well, if you had a philosophy that you would put front and center on a bulletin board in your office or on the back sticker of your car for everyone to see, what would some of those messages say?

Cari McGee:

One of my favorite quotes ever is from Paradise Lost by John Milton. "The mind is its own place and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven." I always think about that because if somebody is... I'm a big believer in mindset. You know, you govern everything that happens to you by how you interpret it and what happens in your brain. If I encounter someone who's like, "Oh, this is bad." And they're gloomy Gus or whatever, it's really hard to not almost shake them and say, "Listen, you're creating this in your brain because literally you can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven. It's just all how you perceive it."

Paul Casey:

So your thoughts are everything.

Cari McGee:

Yeah. 100%.

Paul Casey:

Yeah, yeah. There's a life coach, famous one out there named Brooke Castillo. She puts out this formula of CTFAR, which is circumstance happens to you, and then you have a thought. Usually that thought is somewhat automatic. If we can be careful about that thought, which is what you're saying, because it immediately is going to turn into a feeling. And the feeling could bring you down this downward spiral, which is ugly, or it could be a very empowering feeling that like you said would change. Like, what's going to be better if I just go on this journey?

Paul Casey:

Well, as soon as you do attach the feeling to it, now an action starts to manifest. That could be your body puts out signals that make people go, "Are you okay, Cari?" Or "It seemed like you're offended. Are you angry?" Or whatever that is. You may not like the signals that your body is putting out, or they could really inspire someone. And then the R is the result. And that's what the effect has on everyone around you. So circumstance, thought, feeling, action, and then result.

Cari McGee:

Makes sense.

Paul Casey:

So it sounds like that you definitely have that. The John Milton quote really talks about mindset. Anything else that you'd put on the sticker of your car?

Cari McGee:

Oh, gosh. I'm really blessed because I've always been an optimist.

Paul Casey:

I know this about you.

Cari McGee:

You know?

Paul Casey:

Yeah.

Cari McGee:

I'm always positive. And so I guess that it would be that just like, "Look on the bright side." There's always a bright side. Find it.

Paul Casey:

Some of that is natural for you and your personality style, but you have to choose it every day. So if you're talking to these Tri-City influencers, why would you say choose optimism?

Cari McGee:

Oh, gosh. If you're not choosing optimism, you're choosing pessimism or you're choosing a negative side of realism, and I mean, that just drags you down. It doesn't move you forward. You don't grow where it's dark. You grow where there's light and you move forward where there's light. Think of sunflowers, right? They follow the sun because that's what makes them... You know, that's doing their job. They're optimized, I guess, would be the best word for that.

Paul Casey:

Things grow where there's light. There's the bumper sticker. We found it.

Cari McGee:

There you go. Okay.

Paul Casey:

I love it. I love it. Well, most influencers I know have a bit of a visionary inside of them or that like, "We've got to take the next deal. I got these ideas." So for you, where do you take time to dream about the future or new ideas? Where do you play with that kind of stuff? What does that look like?

Cari McGee:

Oh, a couple of places. I'm in my car a lot as a real estate agent and so a lot of stuff... I'll be listening to podcasts and something will be said and it'll make me think, and I'll pause the podcast and I'll start to think and dream. One other thing, and this is funny, my husband used to be in broadcasting. So this is where this question comes from, but my whole life, I've interviewed myself. Like, "Well, Cari, tell us about this time." Right? To help me kind of walk through or figure out a problem. I was telling my husband that once, and he said, "Do you ever ask yourself a question you can't answer?" I said, "What?" He said, "Well, that's the mark of a good interview." Okay. The point is not though to be-

Paul Casey:

To stop.

Cari McGee:

Right. I'm talking to me. Right? I'm not going to ask myself something that I don't know. But anyway, I'll use that time in the car to do that, and then oftentimes too just out sitting on the patio in the evening, watching the sunset and thinking of the future.

Paul Casey:

Little patio time.

Cari McGee:

Yes.

Paul Casey:

Yeah. Well, that's really interesting. Interview yourself. So Matt McGee, was he sports? What was he?

Cari McGee:

Mm-hmm (affirmative). Yep.

Paul Casey:

Yeah, he was sports. What years were that?

Cari McGee:

Oh gosh, '94 through '97 I think he was at KEPR.

Paul Casey:

Okay. Okay. But asking yourself questions. And I do, I find that, too, like... Because you're on social media a lot. Right? Which platforms do you enjoy the most by the way?

Cari McGee:

Facebook is my milieu. I love it.

Paul Casey:

Okay. Okay. So, of course, you have to be self-promoting, which is hard.

Cari McGee:

Correct yes.

Paul Casey:

Which is hard, and sometimes when you just try to come up with a message on your own, it's difficult. But if you think about the interview, like if I just have somebody ask me a question, for some reason, it makes it easier. Have you found that?

Cari McGee:

Oh, 100%. Yes. Yes.

Paul Casey:

I don't know if it just brings out our authenticity or you don't feel quite as plastic to put it out to the world, but if you can get someone else to ask you a question, I think that's just easier.

Cari McGee:

Well, I mean, I did something at the beginning of when the stay at home order was released. I did a thing for 30 days on Facebook. Every day I asked a new question and it really helped people because the purpose of it was to remind them that we were in this situation, and to think about times in the past when we were not, and times in the future when we won't be.

Paul Casey:

Oh, I like it.

Cari McGee:

So that was the purpose of it and it was a different question every day. It was things like, What's your favorite color? Or do you have a middle name? Do you wish it was a different middle name? What would your last name be if you could change it? I mean, so things like that. You're right. It's when you ask questions, people just are... They jump on it. They get so excited.

Paul Casey:

So a good strategy on social media for engagement, because you've got a lot of engagement from that, too. Right?

Cari McGee:

I did. I did.

Paul Casey:

Yeah. So asking a good question. Really the power of a good question is really essential to leadership and of course, to entrepreneurship. That curiosity really brings out the best in people it seems. Well, before we head into our next question on how Cari starts her day, let's shout out to our sponsor.

Preston House :

Hi, my name is Preston House and I'm the local owner of Papa John's Pizza right here in Tri-Cities.

Jesus Melendez:

I'm Jesus Melendez, vice president and commercial lender with Community First Bank and HFG Trust.

Preston House :

When I moved here in 2009 with my family from Boise, Idaho, I knew I wanted to move from a franchise to a local business owner. I'd been working with Papa John's since I was 16 years old. So when it came time to open my own location here in my own community, I knew I needed some financial guidance from an organization who understood my needs as a small business owner.

Jesus Melendez:

Small business owners often have a lot on their plate employment, retirement plans, payroll, bills. Our mission is to become your financial partner for life and is motivated by providing people in our community like Preston with all the information and support they need all under one roof.

Preston House :

It's really simple. No matter what I need, all it takes is one phone call, no automated prompts, no call waiting. It's just a local business, serving another local business.

Jesus Melendez:

For more information, how Community First Bank and HFG Trust can help you get back on track, visit wwwcommunity1st.com. That's www community one st.com.

Paul Casey:

So Cari, what's your typical morning routine look like before work and once you hit the ground running at work, and if you have any rituals that help you start your day strong?

Cari McGee:

I actually do. I don't know if you've ever read The Miracle Morning.

Paul Casey:

I've heard of it.

Cari McGee:

Okay. It's really, really good, and it talks about having, it can be as few as 10 minutes, or it can be as much as an hour of SAVERS, S-A-V-E-R-S.

Paul Casey:

Oh, yes. Is it Hal Elrod?

Cari McGee:

Yes, yes.

Paul Casey:

Yes. Okay.

Cari McGee:

S is silence, moment of silence, meditation, prayer, whatever. And then A is affirmations. V is visualization. E is exercise. R is reading and S is scribing or journaling. I started that. It was so funny. I started it three years ago, I think. What I love about it is that it centers me because I wake up and I don't look at my phone first thing. I don't look at my emails.

Cari McGee:

The problem with that is you immediately, you're in reactive mode when you do that and that's so bad for you, and the hormones of your body when you're waking up and everything. So if you start the day really centering and being grateful and then also dreaming, you're affirming the visualization. Probably it ties into the dream thing. I mean, I have a really active imagination. Visualizing is not a problem for me at all. And so I love that part of it. And then I've always loved to read and then journaling, too. I love to write. And so all of that is what I generally do probably about five days a week.

Paul Casey:

That's great. So take us through SAVERS again, so our listeners don't have to rewind.

Cari McGee:

Sure. S is silence. So silence, meaning a moment of silence in prayer or meditation. A is affirmations. V is visualization. E is exercise. R is reading and S is scribing, which is the old-fashioned way of saying journaling.

Paul Casey:

Yeah. Yeah. I heard Brendon Burchard, he's another podcast guy I listen to.

Cari McGee:

Oh, I like him.

Paul Casey:

He said, "We need to take our MEDS every day and MEDS is meditation, exercise-

Cari McGee:

Yeah. Meditation, exercise, diet, and-

Paul Casey:

Sleep.

Cari McGee:

Sleep. Yeah.

Paul Casey:

Yeah. So SAVERS incorporates that, but even takes it to that next level with the journaling. What does journaling do for you?

Cari McGee:

Oh, gosh. Well, I mean, Paul, I've always been a writer. I write stories. I write everything. So for me, it's helpful because I will read back over old entries and remember where I was at any given time. And if it was a bad time, then I'm like, "Oh, look at me. I got past this bad time because this is not my reality anymore." Now I'm over here, that happened. It helps me remember and realize that I've gotten through bad times before.

Paul Casey:

You grew.

Cari McGee:

Right. I've gotten through bad times and here I am on the other side of it. Maybe sometimes in there, I'll talk about how I did it, but mostly it's just recording how I feel at any given time. Then I'm like, "Oh, I remember that place. I didn't like that place. I'm glad I'm here now."

Paul Casey:

Yeah, I've heard journal is a place to protest.

Cari McGee:

Oh, sure.

Paul Casey:

You know, it's like when you write an email to someone you're mad at and then you don't send it, but it's just getting it done and then you're going to delete it.

Cari McGee:

Right, exactly.

Paul Casey:

A journal can also be that place where you're just talking about your feelings to the world, but to no one. And then you don't have to show it to anyone else. It's your own private place is doing this journaling.

Cari McGee:

I like that.

Paul Casey:

That's why that's a good one, too. And sleep, well, it's so important, especially during this COVID crisis. A lot of Zoom meetings where you're talking with people on the phone or, and they just... The research says you need eight hours of sleep. I don't know if you're an eight-hour person.

Cari McGee:

Oh, no. I totally am. I'm a huge sleep believer. It bothers me when people are all like, "I'll sleep when I'm dead." Okay, well, you're going to die sooner.

Paul Casey:

It's going to catch up to you. Yeah.

Cari McGee:

So why don't you sleep now? Right? That's my thing.

Paul Casey:

It's going to catch up to you. So if you're getting by in five, six or seven normally, you need the eight now because boy, you just... Sleep puts your life in perspective, I think, if you have enough adequate rest. And when you're on burnout, you lose your perspective and that's a scary place. You ever been in a place of burnout before where it's just-

Cari McGee:

Oh, gosh yeah. Yes.

Paul Casey:

Now what does that feel like for you?

Cari McGee:

Oh, I get snappy. I get really, really snappy with everyone I love. I'll do a lot of screaming in the car. You know, "Move your 'beep.'" Do you not? My mom always used to do this thing where she would drive and we'd be at the intersection and she'd say, "Beep, beep." And then they would move. And she'd say, "See, Cari, they heard me." I was like, "What?" But I will be like, "Move." You know, and it doesn't work for me. Anyway, I snap. I get pissy. Oh, I get snotty. I have attitude. It's awful.

Paul Casey:

Any other tips you'd give to listeners about avoiding burnout? Because it's a grind. Running your own business is a grind, but even for those that are in a regular work job, a day job, a burnout is always a threat.

Cari McGee:

Yep. 100%. Sleep is important. Like we just talked about, you've got to get enough sleep. Otherwise, your last nerve gets reached really fast. But also, one thing that I'm not really good at doing, but would help if I did is take time to notice the things you have done well and where you are now, like you did land that big client or you were able to accomplish this task that you didn't think you could. And then you're like, "Okay, you know what? I really am further along than I thought I'd be."

Paul Casey:

Yeah. Take time to celebrate, I think is what you're saying.

Cari McGee:

Yeah.

Paul Casey:

On my whiteboard, it's my scorecard or whatever I call it, and at the end of every week... I'll do it. I'll do it tomorrow. It's my weekly review, and it's all the things I did get done this week. Of course, I'm just a party of one as a solopreneur. And I just went, "Yes, I got that done, that done, that done." Nobody else sees it, but me, but it makes me feel good like this was another good week.

Cari McGee:

See, and that's really good. I need to do that. I don't do them enough.

Paul Casey:

Yeah. When I ask my coaching clients, the very first question I usually ask of them, the icebreaker question is what wins can we celebrate? What did you get crossed off your list? What did you make progress on? Because most people at least can feel like, "Well, I moved the ball forward in these areas." It's not done-done, but it's better than it was last week. So I really love that as a burnout avoidance technique or else you just feel like, again, not anything done. This is a-

Cari McGee:

Same crap, different day unless you take a minute to say, "Wait, this was a very different day because I accomplished X."

Paul Casey:

Yes, yes. We're trying to avoid Groundhog Day.

Cari McGee:

Right.

Paul Casey:

That is a great way to do it. I love it. Now, family is a big deal to most people. How do you prioritize your family time whether it's with your husband, with your kids and yet still be a high performer at work, right? It's this constant tension.

Cari McGee:

It is, it is. Well, this is a slightly different thing for women, I think, as opposed to men, especially in my job anyway. I heard a long time ago and I have always lived by this. Say, for example, if I'm going to take my daughter to a dance class or I'm going to do something, right? If I tell a client that that's what I'm doing, then I'm a mom primarily who also happens to work in real estate.

Paul Casey:

Oh, okay.

Cari McGee:

Right? But if a dad says, "Hey, I can't show you this house, because I'm going to take my daughter." "Oh my gosh, you're the best dad in the world. Oh, my gosh, you're really taking time for your family. Oh, my gosh, absolutely." Right? So I have always said, even if I am doing something with my kids, nobody knows that. I'm like, "Okay, you know what? I have a lunch appointment."

Paul Casey:

I'm just unavailable right now. Yep.

Cari McGee:

Right. Exactly. "I have a lunch appointment. Blah, blah, blah." So I draw those really clear boundaries around stuff. They don't necessarily know what those boundaries are around, but I mean, that's why when I need to do something with kid one or kid two, I'm there when I said I'd be there because that's super important especially when they're littler. My daughter, it's funny. She hasn't been in daycare for... I don't know. She's 18 now. So like, I don't know, 10 years or more, probably 15 years. And she remembers the one time we were late.

Cari McGee:

Every time we passed her daycare, "Remember when we were late, when you were late to get me?" It's like, "Stop kid." Right? I mean, it's a testament to the fact that her dad and I worked so hard to get them on time that she remembers the one time we were late. Do you know what I mean? As opposed to it being a constant thing.

Paul Casey:

Mm-hmm (affirmative). Well, it's our brains who remember those traumatic times-

Cari McGee:

Oh, my gosh right.

Paul Casey:

... more than all the times you're on time and all the gifts you gave them.

Cari McGee:

Exactly.

Paul Casey:

Do you have date times with your husband? How do you carve? Do you carve that out or as a realtor, do you have to move blocks of time all over the place?

Cari McGee:

No. Sometimes... I mean, he'll say, "This Marvel movie is coming out on Saturday and I got tickets for us already" or whatever. And then I'm like, "Okay, that's perfect." Because if I know in advance, then I'll schedule around it, so that's fine.

Paul Casey:

Okay. So that's blocked out in advance probably through good communication, because there's probably times where you just got to show house and that has to be moved around.

Cari McGee:

Right.

Paul Casey:

And of course, Matt is the biggest U2 fan on the planet. Right? Right?

Cari McGee:

Well, usually. Actually, he's no longer a U2 fan.

Paul Casey:

No longer?

Cari McGee:

No.

Paul Casey:

Oh wow. Okay.

Cari McGee:

There's a new band called Gang of Youths that he loves. They're from Australia, and they're amazing.

Paul Casey:

Okay. All right. I was going to say, did that impact your marriage?

Cari McGee:

Actually, this is funny. I was really worried because I thought... Because they predate me and I thought, "Oh, if he could lose interest in them, my days are numbered." My daughter was like, "Mom, please." I was like, "Oh."

Paul Casey:

Funny, funny. Okay. So as an influencer, we know you're not a know-it-all. You're a learner, right?

Cari McGee:

Right.

Paul Casey:

So where do you go for the wisest advice? These can be live people. Well, they probably all have been live people.

Cari McGee:

And once live.

Paul Casey:

I mean, people around us in the Tri-Cities or they're authors, motivators. You've mentioned one already. You've talked a little bit about podcasts. There's probably some industry professionals because what I know about Keller Williams is it's like the best training company, because I get the magazine. I get Trainer Magazine. I know I'm sort of a nerd, but Keller Williams always wins the awards in there. So tell me about your influencers you go to.

Cari McGee:

Well, one of the number one real estate coaching companies in the world is Tom Ferry coaching. I've had a Tom Ferry coach for four years.

Paul Casey:

Nice.

Cari McGee:

I was a Tom Ferry coach for a period of time. I have a new coach now outside that Tom Ferry organization. She's amazing. So ever since I realized how important coaching is, that's really... I mean, holy cow, my business doubled. It was amazing.

Paul Casey:

Really? Wow. Bam.

Cari McGee:

Yes. It was really remarkable. So coaches for sure. And then part of that reading of the SAVERS is reading books like Principles by Ray Dalio.

Paul Casey:

I'm reading that one right now. Yes.

Cari McGee:

Okay. It's so good. Right? So there's so much to learn, Paul, from everybody. Oh, my gosh, I'm just always reading, and like I said, always podcasting, listening to podcasts with great interviews with people, so that I have to learn more.

Paul Casey:

Do you have a few favorite books or podcasts that you could recommend so that generally entrepreneurs or leaders would enjoy?

Cari McGee:

Sure. One is not actually about anything entrepreneurial, but it's called 99% Invisible and it is just stinking great, fascinating trivial information, really good stories. It's been going on for 10 years and I discovered it a year ago, and over successive hikes at Badger, I've made my way through 10 years of that catalog and stuff. It's so good.

Paul Casey:

Yes. 99% Invisible?

Cari McGee:

Yes. So good. And then Matt does a walk through or does a podcast called The Walkthrough and it's about real estate stuff, and so that's fantastic. And then also, gosh, I would say Tom Ferry's podcast is really good, too.

Paul Casey:

Okay. These are good ones.

Cari McGee:

Oh, sorry. And Gary Keller does one and I can't remember what it's called, but it's really, really good.

Paul Casey:

I have listened to Gary Keller's before. Yes, it is good. So finally, Cari, what advice would you give to new leaders or anyone who wants to keep growing or gaining more influence?

Cari McGee:

Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. I mean, it's really scary, but you are a better person on the other side of whatever it is and your whole life will be better on the other side of whatever you're scared about.

Paul Casey:

Yeah. I think I've actually heard that as a quote.

Cari McGee:

Yeah. That's better on the side other of fear.

Paul Casey:

Everything you want is on the other side of fear. Yeah, yeah. That's great meme. And has that been true for your life?

Cari McGee:

Oh, gosh. Yeah. Yeah. Because again, as I said earlier, I used to hate change. It was really in the last three years that I've changed a lot of stuff and became less resistant to change, and that's really when the growth started to happen. I'm in a place now where I didn't know I could be where things are fantastic and only getting better.

Paul Casey:

So if someone would say, "But Cari, I'm just scared. I see this obstacle in front of me," what would be a baby step that would get them? Either what's their self-talk need to be or what would you say to hit the go button for them?

Cari McGee:

One thing I heard a long time ago, which was really, really good was that as babies, we all learn to walk and what if the first time we learned to walk and we fell down, we just said to ourselves, "All right, well, I guess I'm not a walker." Right?

Paul Casey:

Yeah.

Cari McGee:

No, none of us does that because when we're babies, we don't understand that there are points where you get scared. Babies don't have fear like that. They're just like, "Okay, this is where I have to go." And you have to tap into that primal part of you that's just like, "All right, here we go. Let's go. Let's do it. I'm a baby and I'm moving forward."

Paul Casey:

Love it, love it. So how can our listeners best connect with you?

Cari McGee:

Call me, text me, email me. Phone is [phone]. Email is [e-mail]. So first, then first and last.

Paul Casey:

Fantastic. Well, thanks again for all you do to make the Tri-Cities a great optimistic place and keep leading well.

Cari McGee:

Awesome. Thanks, Paul, so much.

Paul Casey:

Let me wrap up our podcast today with a leadership resource to recommend. It's from The Wiseman Group. What's interesting is there's a term called an Accidental Diminisher so you can actually take a little test to see if you inadvertently are becoming an accidental diminisher of the people that you lead. Even though your heart's in the right place and you have good intentions, there are some things that we can do to actually diminish the people around us. Of course, the author is trying to get you to be a multiplier instead of a diminisher. So you can check that out at The Wiseman Group.

Paul Casey:

Again, this is Paul Casey, and I want to thank my guest, Cari McGee from Keller Williams for being here today on the Tri-City Influencer Podcast. We also want to thank our TCI sponsors and invite you to support them. We appreciate you making this possible, so we can collaborate to help inspire leaders in our community. Finally, one more leadership tidbit for the road to help you make a difference in your circle of influence. It's Anthony D'Angelo. And he says, "Become addicted to constant and never ending self-improvement." So until next time, KGF, keep growing forward.

Speaker 3:

Thank you to our listeners for tuning in to today's show. Paul Casey is on a mission to add value to leaders by providing practical tools and strategies that reduce stress in their lives and on their teams so that they can enjoy life and leadership and experience their key desired results. If you'd like more help from Paul in your leadership development, connect with him at [e-mail] for a consultation that can help you move past your current challenges and create a strategy for growing your life or your team forward.

Speaker 3:

Paul would also like to help you restore your sanity to your crazy schedule and getting your priorities done everyday by offering you his free control my calendar checklist. Go to www.takebackmycalendar.com for that productivity tool or open a text message to 72000 and type the word "growing."

Paul Casey:

The Tri-Cities Influencer podcast was recorded at Fuse SPC by Bill Wagner of Safe Strategies.