S4:E110 🎙️LIVE with Coach Divya Smith🌟 (Multi Tracks Audio)

Hi, I'm John Maxwell. When the top companies in the world are looking for trainers, speakers, and coaches, there's one name that stands above the rest, and that's Maxwell Leadership. Our certified team members have gotten proven results for companies all over the globe, and our reputation, I'm proud to say, is second to none. Some of our members have risen to the top of their profession including the one you're going to meet today. I proudly introduce you to my friend, Bob Fabien Zinga.

Welcome to the Leadership Success Podcast with your host, Coach BZ, where we help you lead with purpose and succeed with impact. If you're ready to grow into the kind of leader others want to follow, this podcast is for you. If you're determined to elevate your success and leave a lasting legacy, this podcast is for you. As my mentor, Dr. John C. Maxwell, reminds us, everything rises and falls on leadership. Our goal is simple: to inspire you, challenge you, and equip you with insights that can transform the trajectory of your leadership journey. Welcome aboard to another episode of the Leadership and Success Podcast with Coach BZ.

Until I took actions, I didn't even realize and learn, you know, what good looked like, what great looked like. I don't want to downplay the fact, you know, there are chances that you can lose money, but I equate it with the same thing as stocks. You know, when I purchased certain stock, and I'm going to totally pick on Disney here, I bought Disney stock about 3 years ago. I was very, very headstrong on it, very bullish about it, but bought $30,000 to $40,000 worth of it and I just sold it for $25K because I was like, I'm— I can stay here, keep losing money, or I could move it else somewhere, you know, where I'm going to make money. So there's, there's kind of losses and gains everywhere. I think the hard part is we get stuck in analysis paralysis. We, we can't let ourselves, like the fear just get the best of us.

We need to kind of keep moving forward and taking actions.

Yeah, absolutely.

And like I had mentioned earlier, it's really when we take those action steps that we truly learn, right? Otherwise we're just going to, you know, stay in the starting blocks and never— Hold on. This is not supposed to happen. Okay. Hey Divya, I'm going to bring you back in just a second. Here we go. All right, everyone, thanks so much for being here. I have a very, very special guest. She was in the green room, you just saw her for a second. But before I go to her, let's do what we do on this show every time we meet. First thing is to be grateful. So for our moment of gratitude today, I want you to please close your eyes if you can, take a deep breath and Think about one thing that you are grateful for right now. And for me today, it's been raining in Silicon Valley, and I'm always, always very, very grateful for the rain. And I am just grateful for the rain today. What a beautiful, beautiful weather. So if you tap into the comment what you are grateful for, I really do appreciate that. And let me see if I can properly introduce our guest today. I'm very, very excited to have her. DeVia is a technology executive who turned real estate investing for broader impact and purpose. Our goal is to help busy professionals like you build a passive income stream through real estate that allows them to achieve financial freedom and focus on what matters to them the most. She brings the same rigor, strategic mindset, and execution ability that helped her succeed in corporate world in real estate. Since starting Ascending Avenue Investment, DeVia and her investors have participated in multiple deals in North Carolina and Texas, resulting in a portfolio size of over $200 million. Wow. Divya has an extensive corporate background and has worked in multiple Fortune 100 companies in executive leadership role, and she also consults directly with corporations to build out their teams globally. So while providing strategic guidance to transform their digital capability. Ladies and gentlemen, I am so overjoyed to welcome on the Leadership and Success Podcast, Divya Smith. Here we go. How are you doing today?

Good. Thank you so much for having me, BC. It's been really good to kind of be here, and I love to thank you for sharing, you know, a little bit of an introduction. It's exciting to be here. I'm grateful for being on this podcast, and actually, the fact you talked about grateful, so I will take a moment and just express gratitude to you and your service. It was Veterans Day very recently, you know, a couple days ago, so thank you for your service, and I think it's really fun to be here and have a good conversation with the folks here.

Good. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. So what is something about you that most people may not know about?

So I've been in corporate America for a while, so that's been really fun. I think that's pretty visible, but I've always been really into kind of outdoorsy nature stuff, and a little bit of that is shown, but I've kind of had that from, you know, when I was really little. So a lot of people may not know that I used to be one of those, uh, you know, probably the only few girls who was always out and about outside hiking, and I've shared that more and more, but something that people didn't know before.

That is really fantastic. Can you tell us a little bit about your leadership journey, how you came to become such a wonderful investor, how it all got started for you?

Yes, absolutely. So happy to share my background. So like many engineers, you know, I was— so I come from an Indian descent, and I was given, hey, either you can be a doctor or an engineer. Of course, I went the engineering route because, uh, the side of blood was a little bit difficult for me, so I didn't end up in that direction. So Started out in technology and that's kind of how my career grew. I was a good developer, but not the great developer, but I was a better leader. So quickly, within about 3 to 4 years of my roles, I continued to be in the leadership path and that's where I have led on, you know, many teams. I worked at Target Corporation, then worked at UnitedHealth Group, Hilton, US Bank. So I've worked at some really large companies. And then at the end of my career, and I wouldn't say end, but at the end of my full time into a big corporate job, I wanted to make a bigger purpose, you know, make a bigger impact. And that's really when I decided, hey, if we all wanted to get out and just have a little bit more of our own time to ourselves, how could we invest our money? And one of the things that I had talked with many people like me is we are so busy in our jobs. A lot of technology leaders, a lot of executives, we are working 60, 70, 80 hours. Yes, we didn't even have time to figure out some of these opportunities. And yes, you could get a financial advisor, but I felt there was more, more that was available outside, you know, these, um, actually very standardized, uh, financial advisors. So that's where I started into real estate investment because it really was leading from a path of purpose and wanting to kind of share this wisdom with more people.

That is really quite something. And, uh, so What was the exact turning point that led you to leave corporate America and build Ascending Avenue Investment?

That is a great question. So I'll share this candidly. I had, um, I had just started this program. So at UnitedHealth Group, I was, uh, actually hired to lead their telehealth program, and I launched it in multiple states, over 38 states. So that was a really good feed. I was given actually 18 months deliver that project, ended up doing it in about 9 months. And my goal was really to kind of figure out, okay, now there's this leftover income. How do I, you know, could, could we take this money that was supposed to be spent on the project and actually be able to kind of donate to, donate it towards the causes? And I think, yes, there's like corporate channels and mechanisms that we could have done that. And that seemed like a lengthy process for me. And it just finally hit me, like, if I really want to direct my money into donations, charity causes, or places where I wanted to go, then I will kind of do that, um, you know, with myself. So that's where I started my company. And my goal is, you know, when I hit this certain income threshold, my really hope is to be able to give about 50% of all my revenue and proceeds to some of these causes. So, so that's really what my goal is.

That's amazing.

Thank you. And I mean, I just started doing small things here and there. So just started to support some causes this year. It's not as big as I'd like, but it's just starting small and continuing to build on it.

That is really amazing. Most people who are believers, including Oprah, we believe in tithing, which, you know, giving 10%. So what does your 50% come from? That's way, way above what the majority of people, including billionaires, give away each, each year, even to help out with their own taxes.

Yeah, yes. Oh, I'm a simple woman.

Wow, that's pretty cool.

I just don't have a lot of kind of big desires in life to kind of need that sort of money. But, you know, once you hit a certain income threshold, you realize I still eat good food. I still go to my, like, nice vacations, which for me is not like super fancy places. It's usually still in the wilderness somewhere, which is not that expensive, you know.

Wow. That is amazing because I had a dream since I was 15 years old that one day I would give away 90% of my income and live on 10% or less. Basically do the inverse of what everybody else is doing. So that's why I was just interested to see how you come up with a 50%. Because I mean, it is so true in this world, especially in America, which I think is the most materialistic country in the world, in my opinion. We work so hard to get so many stuff, just like things and cars and houses and boats. It's like, how many houses can you live in at the same time? How many cars can you drive at the same time? How many boats can you have? They get the yacht, they get the bigger yacht. Money bigger. I mean, okay, I, I don't, I don't know, but if eventually you are going to die and all of this money is going to stay here, you're not going to take any of it with you. That's why I really love people like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, right? They have really committed to giving away most, if not all, of their wealth by the time they pass away. I think that is really, really—

yeah, but I love that. I'm going to point out the fact that you just called up Warren Buffett. One of my favorite qualities about him is he still lives in the same house.

Wow.

When I want to say he was 20 or 21 that he purchased. I mean, this is a tiny home, like under 2,000 square feet. Wow. Chosen to build wealth, but still kept very humble beginnings. So like, you know, like I don't remember, like, don't quote me on the exact year he bought it, but he was very young and he still kept— wow. And like, those are the kind of people we want to aspire to, like going out and giving, like you said. But again, like you're not increasing the means by which you're living. The goal really is how do you free yourself to truly live your purpose? And that's really where my intention was starting the company is like, if I can have people maybe working 30, 25, 30 hours and then rest of their income is coming from real estate and still enjoy their work, go meet their coworkers, really have fun, but without overgiving their hours and now can still do purpose and also say spend more time with their family.

That is, that is beautiful. Thank you. Thank you. I think this is an idea that could definitely revolutionize, uh, the lives of the people who are listening in right now. So you often talk about creating a portfolio career. Uh, what does that mean to you, and how can professional design one intentionally?

Yes, I feel like Coach— like, Coach BC, this is where I think you and I will align, and I would love your feedback on some of this too, maybe offline as well.

So portfolio in this case is— I've always been a person who wanted to do multiple things, and For me, in every single job I've had, I've been promoted out of a job usually within 9 to 12 months. So every job I've had, I've had, you know, at Target I had 6 promotions in 8 years. Then I was at US Bank, like every place, like 9 to 12 months I'm getting a promotion. And it was also because I go in, master what I need to master and move on to the next thing. So from that, I've learned these specific skills that really work in corporate America. You know, there's, there are definitely some theoretical concepts, but then there's true and applied rules from my background and perspective that have worked for me that I want to share with other people.

Wow.

So from that portfolio mindset, I do 3 specific things. So one, we just talked about the real estate investing. So I bring these investments to investors. They usually are able to invest in it. And then we all kind of like are waiting for those returns to come in. Usually we try to double their money in about 5 years. So it's pretty exciting.

Wow.

So that's first. The second one, the second one is I also do what's called executive consulting. So I worked with Cigna Healthcare last year. I helped them open up their GCC in India, the global captive in their India office. So that was really fun. And I also did strategic consulting with another big company, and I'm actually just starting with another CIO directly working with them to kind of do some executive consulting with them. So that's kind of the second thing. And it's really fun for me because I have all this background, so I still want to continue to help as many executives as I can from a strategic perspective.

That is really awesome. Part of the reason why I was really excited to have you on the show, sometimes I joke with my wife, if it wasn't for our dog, right, I would be the only male in my household. It is really wonderful to see women like you kicking it and doing so well. And part of the reason why I do this, I really want to put a spotlight spotlight on you because sometimes I think you are unsung heroes, and I'm always looking for, um, mentor or model for my two daughters where they can see, uh, people who kind of look like them who are doing great, great things. So how did your early experiences in technology, leadership, and global operation kind of shape your entrepreneurial mindset?

Yeah, so, um, you know, from, from all the experiences that I've had, there has always been a need to kind of build new and drive new things and changes. And I think all of them have kind of helped me continue to build and be comfortable with being uncomfortable. I think that is a trait that we don't talk about enough. And that is where it has allowed me now to pivot into my third thing, which I was going to share with you in my portfolio career, is about coaching. So I really like— and this is where you and I may align, you know, in some ways. I have looked into Maxwell many times. I've actually attended a couple programs by him as well. Um, and there are certain things that we do from a coaching perspective, and I really wanted to give everybody like, here is a 12-week crash course. I'm going to go through week by week every single thing you need to do from networking to branding to putting yourself out there, doing the hard conversations, really doing conflict resolution, leadership skills, executive presence, all of it in one place so that in 12 weeks you walk out and you're a different person. And that's really my goal. And hopefully I'll get to kind of share more details with you later.

No, that is really amazing. I want you to say what you said earlier one more time. Being comfortable being uncomfortable. That is so key, especially right now, 2025, with all of the emerging tech and things changing. Sometimes it looks like, you know, the world is changing overnight. And I feel like that's really a skill everybody needs to have. Not have all of the answers, but have a sense of where their direction should be and what is the purpose of their life, kind of what direction they should be heading to. Can you tell us a little bit more about that?

Yeah, so, you know, being uncomfortable, and I think that's a skill we don't talk about enough, right? So you start out on a brand new team, you're starting in a brand new company.

There's a lot you don't know, but then there's things that you know.

And one of the things that, depending on again, who the person is, right?

So either you're very confident about what you know and then you turn off all the leaders around you. Because they're like, well, this is an entitled person. They think that they know it all. So now you've not really embraced the newness of the culture and the team, but also learning kind of what they have to offer. And then there's the opposite, which is, hey, I'm brand new, I don't know much at all. And now they're looking for everybody else to help them. Well, that's not the case either, because now if you think about it, you come with a skill set and strengths, and that's why you got hired. So now, you know, start leaning with those strengths and, you know, fill in the gaps as you need. Two different ways to think about kind of being uncomfortable. And I think just knowing that. So there's— that's the intellectual uncomfort, you know, uncomfortableness. But I feel like there's a little bit more. There's the, the personal uncomfortableness. Then there's also like health pursuits or like goals. So there's different goals that you can set that help you kind of be uncomfortable. And I feel like we need to constantly be like looking at one of those goals to kind of keep helping us grow.

Wow, that is really, really insightful. Thank you so much for Sharing that, I think that's worth the price of a ticket of those listening right now. I would have come to this podcast just to hear that. Thank you. So you've also said build people and they will build the business. So what does that look like in practice when leading teams across continents like you've had to do?

Yeah, share a little bit more what you mean by that specifically. So in what specific regard?

No, it's just something I read in one of your article where you were saying, yeah, building business is great, but you were really emphasizing the key was to actually build the people. And as you build them, then the people will be building the business. I guess part of the thing I've learned, I've been in Silicon Valley for about 11 years now, and almost every company I've worked for, they say our people are our secret strength and blah, blah, blah, our most valuable asset. But the very first chance they get to lay a bunch of people off to make an extra dollar, they absolutely will do it. So it's a bunch of talk, but not much action to support what they actually say their core values are. But anyway, I just wanted to get your perspective on building people to actually build the business.

Yeah, so there's a couple of ways to think about it, right? So one is from the person, let's say the CEO, the owner of the business. You're always looking for the right talent that can help you continue to grow the business. Now, in their mind, there's one goal, which is growing the business. But ideally, there should be two goals, which is growing the business and growing the people with it. And if you continue to help grow the people, I think the part that has been— this is the value I feel like that's lost in time right now, which is loyalty. And loyalty from both ends, right? As employees, people are a lot more willing to kind of go look for new jobs if things are not working out there. It's just harder for them to kind of stick it out. And employers the same way, like employers are not sticking up for their employees hard enough because things get difficult. They're like, we'll just hire somebody new. So it's become a bit more transactional. I, and I feel like that's where the loyalty is lost. So that's kind of what I meant by that specific article is when you start to invest both ways, right? People will stick with you in the hard time if you invest with them in, into their growth as well. So it has both ways. And I feel like that skill that used to be there, that loyalty, is gone. And it doesn't mean that you have to work at a company 30, 35 years. You know, good leaders know that it's time for you to move on at a certain point in time.

Wow.

But still kind of being consistent, kind of providing that value to each other.

Well, that is really insightful. So from your experience, you've done this globally, Fortune 1000 company, where you've helped, uh, develop the vision and then drive the execution. So how do you balance vision and execution, especially when driving transformation in large organization?

So that's a great question. And that's actually one of the biggest reason I get hired most of the times when I'm doing some of the consulting work is there's very few far between leaders who are looking at the vision, which is long-term.

And let's say this is 3 to 5 years, usually, you know, because we are changing so quickly, we used to kind of look at the horizon of 5 years. I've kind of brought it down to 3 years because if you can't deliver in 3 years, Things have dramatically changed after that.

Yes.

If 3 years, that's your vision. The execution part comes when you're very clear about what are those smaller tasks that are leading up to that 5-year goal, right? So, so being able to clearly identify not only the long-term kind of vision, but then breaking down the strategy to say, okay, if I need to execute in 3 to 6 months, what are my achievable goal and what are specific key metrics that will get me to that 3-year goal? So that's really how I would kind of define and kind of split the two.

Wow, thank you so much. So you've led major digital transformation efforts. I know you've built Hilton's global site to launching Optum's virtual care solutions. What are the biggest leadership challenges in digital innovation, in your opinion?

So the digital, as you can imagine, constantly changing, right? And so it ends up becoming about how are you putting the person, the person in front of the digital. So whether that be a customer, client, guest, whatever you call it, every company I've worked at, they call it different, right? Whether it is the person who's holding the account in case of US Bank, whether it's the customer who's walking into, you know, an office or a client or a guest who is walking into Target. So no matter what, you have to see things from their lens. A lens. And end of the day, it needs to be convenient for them. It needs to be easy and reasonable for them. So in digital, we still think about step by step, moving from one to the next to the next. That is all well and great when we are coding it, programming it behind the scenes, and creating solutions, but that is not okay when you look at it from a user standpoint. So can 8 or 10 of those steps be combined into 2, 3, and only there's 2 or 3 steps that the person from the consumer side actually sees. So that's really the big concern.

I really like that you go back to the human, you said the human standpoint. How can leaders ensure technology transformation aligns with human transformation as well?

Correct. Yeah, I mean, that's exactly it. End of the day, technology is technology and it doesn't have much emotion. It's going to do what it needs to do. The way it's programmed.

Wow.

How do you now take the emotion that comes with human? If somebody's looking to buy something really quick because they forgot their kid's soccer, you know, soccer match tomorrow and they need something just like as quickly as today or tomorrow, how do you kind of like facilitate that like process really quickly? Or someone who's ill and they need a quick doctor's appointment, what's the first doctor's appointment available to them? And kind of provide that solution really quickly. So start almost, and this is, you know, of course we call it predictive analytics, but in the case of technology, you start to kind of do predictive analytics based on what they may be looking to do. And let's say if folks are looking for 2 or 3 different outcomes, you share those outcomes and hopefully you can jump multiple steps to kind of take them to that final, you know, point.

That is quite fascinating. So in your view, what separates organizations that do digital from the organizations that truly become digital?

Yeah, so I don't know if many folks knew, but I will share this. This, this is public information. But at one point in time, Target website was run by Amazon.

Wow.

This is year 1998, '99, like pretty early, early, even 2000s. And so it started out then very early. Digital sites were launched in right about year 2008, 2009, like roughly when the separation started to happen. And of course, at that time, Amazon was not big. If you start looking at revenue of Amazon, it was a hockey stick, but the hockey stick came right about like 2011, '12. Then they started. So with what you said, right, like some companies did really well. I mean, if you look at Amazon and I'm not going to take example of Target, Target has done really well in certain spaces as well. But Amazon specifically, They were not digital, but they focused first on how do we make things convenient for our customers. So they're, one of their core values is super easy, super convenient. So they show you right away, here are all the items you've purchased in the last, you know, a few months. Like, do you want one-click buy? Like, I have not still yet seen that in many other companies. They're truly leading from a digital transformation and they make it super easy to kind of be able to kind of take it to next level.

That's pretty cool because I know one of the core values for Amazon they really try to live by is customer obsession, right? They are absolutely completely obsessed by their customers and many times the customers feel it. And I guess another way to say it is even as they are one of the biggest companies in the world today, they still try to run themselves like a startup in some ways. But wow, that is quite amazing. So what about emerging technology, artificial intelligence, automation, and data? How have those shaped your approach to leadership and decision-making today?

Yeah, so a few different ways.

I think I'll share a little bit even entrepreneurial side, but then also from a leadership technology standpoint, I think, you know, people talk about AI now like it's a buzzword and it still continues to be a buzzword, but there's truly reality between like the LLMs, like the large language models, and then specifically, say, machine learning projects and automation, right? They all are different. They all have different purposes. One of the key things I, every single time I'm working with a company, my focus is to say, what is the need that you have? Because you cannot like put a solution on top if you don't have a very clear need identified, what goals you need to deliver using that technology. So that's one piece. I think that's always being very clear about what are the goals and the metrics you're looking for.

Yes.

From an entrepreneurial standpoint, it's been fantastic because I don't have to ask really for, you know, compliance permission for what's tools to use. So I use over, and I actually was counting yesterday, over 9 or 10 tools that are all like AI-related tools to kind of help me with my business. It can go from anywhere to automating certain tasks to kind of doing certain things on social media. Even though I'm active on social media, it's actually not me sometimes in there. I write everything. So all the content you see, it's written by me, but some of the additional steps that are being handled, that's handled by AI.

Wow.

So like, that is kind of the space where we are playing, is really being very clear in what your value proposition is. For me, it's about the right stories and the right content, and then the rest can be handled by others. But you have to figure out what it means for you.

That is, that is really interesting. I'm really glad I am living in the 21st century. What a very exciting time to live in. Even on this podcast, I use AI for a couple of things, but One thing, every time I speak to someone who's from another country or who has another language, I always translate what I am doing in their language. I have like an AI-made summary of the podcast in their original language. So far we've done it in French, which is my native language. We've done it in Spanish. We've done it in Portuguese as well, which is pretty interesting. I kind of understand Spanish a little bit, but Portuguese I have absolutely no idea. When the AI does it, it sounds just like native people. It's just extraordinary. So let's talk about investing just a little bit. When we started, I played a short clip of you talking about the fear of investing, which a lot of people have. So many professionals, they do want to invest, but sometimes they just feel overwhelmed, right? So you are an investment guru. So what are 3 mindset shifts you think professionals need to make to start building wealth? Intentionally?

Yes, absolutely. You know, a couple of things I would share. Building wealth is critical for freeing yourself in future, right? So what I think about is what actions or steps do I need to take today in order for me to free myself in 5 years or where I want to be in 5 to 10 years? Most of the investments that we do, and if you like Warren Buffett, we just took his example. And there's, you know, like you look at from the investment world, they all have made bets 5 to 10 years prior to which they reap the rewards about 5 to 10 years later. And that's really how you need to think about it. So what I recommend to folks who are even learning about investments, like, hey, you don't need to go hot and heavy and like invest all like this year and then you have nothing left. Start here, do one investment every year that you hope to kind of get benefits in about 3 to 5 years from now, and then you can continue. That's how cycle. And once you start to see returns, then you can take those returns, either take some or reinvest. And like, now you're snow— you're having a snowball effect before you know it.

Yeah, right.

And I've seen that snowball effect, uh, as I've done my projections, in about 10 years, like, that's going to be in a different place. And that's okay. But that's really what I want folks to think about, is think about what risk you're willing to take today, especially because you know your strengths, you know your skill sets, Like, if I need to go back and get a job at any point in time, I'm very comfortable that I'll be able to get it right. No problem. So why wouldn't I take this risk now versus waiting until I'm 50, 60, when there's— it's going to be a lot harder for me to get a job. One, I'm hitting a new age bracket and a lot of companies won't hire. Like, we don't talk about that enough, and that's a whole another topic. But, you know, do things that you're very comfortable with today, and you, you got to have strength and like, um, You gotta have faith in your skills and your strengths and be able to leverage that today.

Wow, that is really powerful. And I do believe you take the entire summer off to just spend time with your kids and have all kinds of fun, which is really, really awesome. But I'm thinking about busy executives listening to us now, and many of the people I mentor are in the military or in cybersecurity. So those are very high-pressure, very, very demanding job. So how can people like that create passive income? You mentioned real estate, uh, earlier while maintaining demanding careers.

Yes. Okay, so happy to share a little bit more about kind of what kind of opportunities we provide. So we tend to buy like these large-scale apartment buildings, and instead of you managing it personally— so I used to manage one myself, it was too much, too much work. I also realized in the process that I I don't do very well with emotional drama. So this is where like hiring a property management was very helpful. So kind of clear, you know, business communication and direction. So this is where somebody else is managing it for you. Somebody else is finding these opportunities. So not all opportunities are positive, right? I know people who have bought Airbnbs. I know people who have bought these properties thinking that they will appreciate crazy like they have been in you know, last few years, that's not the case. Like, they had to sell it on a loss or just walk away from it. So there are many of those options as well. But for me, the option was giving these investment opportunities to people who are busy, who cannot go out and check them out themselves. So I do all the work behind the scenes. Me and my team, we go in, we do the due diligence, we do the underwriting for all of these, make sure we are doing the right projections, we are getting the property insurance, the inspectors, the legal team, the construction team, the property management. You name it, I mean, all of it is handled. Yes, the investors basically come in, review the investments, put their funds in, and basically collect distribution.

Wow, that's pretty cool.

So the goal is really to kind of simplify it. And we talked about, you know, from the point of the— your customer obsession. That's really it. Instead of, you know, the people who are really busy and now they are figuring out what property management to talk to and what responses to get, all of it is handled for you.

You basically collect distributions.

That, that is really, really cool. So what do you wish more women and underrepresented leaders knew about real estate investing?

I'd say they, they need to get out there and start taking a little risk. I think that's the biggest difference I've seen from a mindset perspective. And I know you had shared that word. We all need to be— you got to where you are because of your strengths. And it's a lot harder, especially when you're underrepresented and when you're women. It's a lot harder to get to those places. So now just imagine your strengths are even stronger than anybody who just got there. So have more faith in your strengths and start taking a little bit of risk so that you can get out there and truly start taking advantage of compounding, because compounding interest is the best thing ever.

Wow, that is, that is quite amazing. I, I, I really, uh, appreciate all of the work you you do, because you are also a career coach. So you help mid-level leaders get unstuck and gain clarity. What are the most common barriers professionals face before a breakthrough, in your experience?

Yeah, so there's 2 or 3 different phases, I would say, especially when somebody who's been in their career for a long time and now they're seen a certain way. So I usually help them kind of break out of that image that they have created for themselves and the images that were put on them. So how do you kind of break out of that image and truly be seen as a strategic leader that can then take on more work and kind of truly transform into the next level? So that's one group of folks. The other is when— and this happened to me a lot— when you tend to be a little bit younger than most of the other peers around you, I think you're seen a little bit differently. And so how do you kind of continue to protect portray yourself as being professional, being sophisticated enough to understand strategy, and then really focus on execution. So I help them put strategies for those folks as well so that you can continue to kind of grow in your career from that perspective as well.

Wow.

And then the third folks is people who are transitioning. So let's say I have somebody, she was in sales and she's like, sales is great. I've done account management stuff, but now I want to move on into this different role. So that's what we basically talk about. How do you now strategize and have the right messaging, right conversations all in place in order for you to transition into that new role?

That is really awesome. The last question I'm going to ask you for this segment is, what are your top 3 power moves that any professional listening to us right now can take this year to accelerate their career growth?

So I would say 3 things, and one may not be directly related to like actual career, but 3 specific things. One is what are your strengths and really take time to identify it. So really hone in on your strengths. If you can't explain your strengths in 2 to 3 sentences to somebody, you've kind of lost them.

So take time to figure that out and really be able to kind of speak to it within, you know, 2 to 3 sentences. So that's the first one, I would say, kind of life-changing.

Second, I would say, is for you to read less watch less videos and do more.

So that would be number 2, which is execute more, do more, learn through actual practice, not by watching or not by reading, because a lot of us get stuck into just reading or taking in. So our input is too much but not enough output. So that would be my second challenge. And third one, and it's a little bit more personal, which is, um, I learned, I would say about 7 to 8 years ago as I started on my own journey, is figure out a physical pursuit because taking on a physical challenge is one thing that nobody can help you with. Your body has to do the work. And when you start doing that physical pursuit or work, you really start to see it helps affect your confidence level as well because nobody else in that. So it's not related, but I think it makes a big difference in kind of the confidence and kind of the growth you're looking looking for.

Wow, that is pretty, pretty cool. Thank you. Thanks so much for sharing that. So we're gonna get over to the second segment of, of the show where I mostly focus on leadership. Uh, if you can maybe share with us what is the, uh, greatest lesson you think you've ever learned, just in life, in leadership, or career?

Yes. Um, I would say the greatest lesson and also my pet peeve at this point is there are a lot of people who talk a really big game. There are a lot of people who talk really big words, but there's few who actually follow through in action. So it's great. Be a great listener, but focus on the actions. So that is kind of what I would say. Focus on people's actions because they'll show you through actions what they truly want to do.

Hmm.

That is powerful. Action speaks louder than words.

Every time.

That is so true. Wow. So what do you think is the secret to your success? You've had great success in corporate America, entrepreneurship, investing. Why do you think that is?

I think it's persistence. And I, so, and I'll share just a little bit more detail on that. I grew up in a, in a very, I'd say, small household, not much for income, going out to eat. If I could get one little treat a week, that was pretty exciting for me. So I would say that's really been difficult. So One thing for success is it comes from persistence, but then also grit, truly have that grit to be able to want to make it through it all. Honestly, I know it's hard, but the reward is also incredible because you feel that sense of joy and then the confidence that comes from doing the hard work. I don't think you get it when you get things easily.

Wow. Thank you. I think that seems really— I mean, I hear it over and over and over again, even throughout my own life. Because for the majority of people, it seems like as soon as they get a little obstacle, a little no, they just stop and they crumble. It's the end. And there are others like me, it's like, okay, you may have said no now, but how do I turn your no into a yes? There's got to be another way, right? There is a challenge here, but maybe I need to blow up that wall or get under it, over it, or do something. But there's got to be a way for me to go from point A to point B. I will don't take no for an answer. And I feel like that mindset sometimes is really what you need in order to be able to go through some challenges that for whatever reason destroys the majority of people. But then there are other people, they go through it and they just get stronger and they have more purpose and they just get better and better. So that's pretty interesting to see. So what do you think is the greatest leadership advice you've received so far?

Greatest leadership advice. I would say probably focus on what brings you the most, not just joy, but contentment. And joy, I think, is overused. Contentment I can live with, right? So this is like peaceful. And I have found when I'm able to help others, And this is where I continued to move on into coaching. And then that's why I jumped into investment. I was the most content when I was able to uplift even one life. So for me, if I can have a positive conversation, a positive impact, for me, that was incredible. So whatever brings you that contentment, focus on that.

That's also why you give away 50% of your income. You are crazy, but you make such a huge, huge difference. Wow. That is incredible. Incredible. So as a leader, what are you learning right now? I know leaders are learners. What you learning now?

So a couple things. There are, um, couple leadership books, uh, more so from a, from a life coaching standpoint that I'm kind of researching and learning. There are a couple AI tools I'm learning as well, so more on that. And then there is, um, there's just a little bit more revolutionary sort of books, a little I'd say kind of put you on the edge sort of money-making books that I'm also reading to kind of just see a different perspective. I feel like I look at things one way and I'm always trying to see, okay, let's take my understanding, turn it upside down, and how can I be challenged?

Wow. Okay, so let's talk about failure for just a second. One of my favorite commanding officers gave me this coin. One side it says success, the other side it says failure. Success, failure, two sides of the same coin. We know all about your successes, but what about failure? How has failure shaped your life?

The— I see the interesting thing, just to mention Coach Reezy, is, um, I feel we define failure differently than like many people, right? So for me, failure just means there's another yes coming. So, and I'll just share very Simple example. I was a freshman in college. This is when I had just moved from India. I'm 18 years old. I had, I had only about $5,000 for my college tuition. So I had been working 40 hours a week. I still didn't have enough money to pay my next semester's college tuition. And for me, that was very purposeful that I should be able to pay for it, not take loans. I had applied that year to 84 different companies, and this is when I used to live in Minneapolis. 84 different companies and applied for internship. Now, like, seriously, I'm a freshman, right? So very difficult for me to kind of get— I just completed my first year. I'm looking for an internship right after my freshman year. 84 places. 2 companies called back. One, I only did in-person interview. That in-person interview was at Target Corporation. I was supposed to have 4 different interviews with 4 different managers, 30 minutes with each. They all 4 walked in, and these are middle-aged white guys. I'm 18 years old, by the way. So just, just like, you can just look at this. 4 guys sitting in front of me and said, we're short on time, so we're all going to meet with you in one shot. We have going on. And here I'm panicking, right?

Of course.

Um, I did the 45-minute interview with all of them, answered their questions, shared what I had done. And I get a call back from HR, and of course I'm like, yep, didn't get it, like, didn't happen. And she said, they would love to have you. You are the only person who, who showed, demonstrated, you know, a great attitude. They loved your positivity. They loved your energy. The interesting thing, Coach, in all this, they didn't talk about what I knew or didn't know. They talked about my positivity and my attitude. So I share this story as it is an example how far your mindset and attitude can take you.

And it is not about, you know, just like, just the failures.

So if I focus on the 83 rejection letters, and this is the time when you in-mail rejection letters, so I'm like getting rejection letter after rejection letter. I'm like, I'm not giving up.

I just keep applying every week.

I'm applying 20 places. Um, so this is failure, right?

But the success comes after failure. So after 83 rejections, the 84th for me was—

wow, that is amazing. Uh, we must have come to the US around the same time. I was 17 years old when I to this country. And a year later, I tried to get a job, any job whatsoever. But I think I applied probably for 200 jobs. But one of the biggest issues I had, it was, okay, we want to hire you, but you don't have the experience. I'm like, okay, if you don't hire me, I will never get the experience. So it's like, how do we solve this problem? But eventually somebody did have mercy on me. They gave me a job and I made sure to be the best worker they've ever had in their entire career. And I did. And like they say, The rest is history. But, uh, well, positivity, attitude— like Papa John, my primary mentor, says, right, your attitude will determine your altitude. That is very, very powerful. Thank you so much for, uh, sharing that. Um, what are the people that you know, some mentors or thought leaders that you follow that have impacted your life that we should know?

So there's quite a few mentors that I follow from a little further away, um, and they're mentors that I've met more recently that I've continued to kind of stay in touch with, you know, one of the things that I look for, and I think it's a little bit more about not the person, but the qualities I'm trying to follow. And like you mentioned, the qualities I'm looking for is people who have gone through the hardship but still figured out a way to overcome it. I always look through that because we all go through hardships. We all, like, we talk about, you know, levels of suffering, right? Levels of pains that we have, like, that's part of life. But he's actually identified pain and kind of gone through it. Now, for a while, I really liked listening to Tony Robbins, and of course, a lot of people do. And he's very inspirational, motivational for me.

His—

when earlier on he talked about how life was difficult, I think I related to that really, really well. Another woman, Indra Nooyi. I loved following her in her career as well. You know, one of the interesting things that I took away from Indra is she had a very different upbringing. In her household, her grandparents actually gave her a lot of business knowledge and information that otherwise is not available. So for me, I've taken that as a role model and started to implement in my own household. What things can I give my kids in order to help them, you know, proceed from that?

That's really amazing. I believe she's the first woman CEO, right, of, uh, Pepsi. Yeah, yeah, that's amazing. Wow, cool. So if you could choose 3 people to have dinner with— now they could be alive, dead, or even mythical figure— who would you choose and why?

I think Indra would be one, definitely. I think that would be fantastic to just pick her brain, especially being in a boardroom with all men usually and how that felt. I think that would be very interesting. Um, And then one you have actually on your bookshelf right behind you. Uh, I would love to kind of meet with her.

Uh, you know, she's always been talking about Michelle.

Of course.

Yes. Yes. You don't have to say any more. One, one more.

Yes.

Um, I think another person could be Tim Ferriss. So Tim Ferriss is very much known for kind of experimenting on himself.

And I'll be honest, like, that's kind of how I learned to— it's like, let's do it, let's figure it out. I would just love to kind of like just talk to him and see like, what else are you experimenting? You know, you've done your brain, you've done your body, you're doing all these relationships, right? Talk about all the experiments you've done in your life.

All right. Which books you've read that you would like to recommend to the audience and your favorite book?

Yes. So Atomic Habits. I love the fact that you have that picture up.

Yes.

Love Atomic Habits. I think it's such a great book.

The other one, um, I think it needs to pay you for advertising, this guy. James Clear, give us advertising money. Royalty, man. Royalty.

Many times. Um, the other one that's very interesting and different, it's called Think Like a Monk.

Yes.

Um, it's by Jay Shetty. And the interesting thing about that book is it just makes you think differently. So that's another book that I've always kind of liked, and it's very much like a life coaching kind of perspective mindset. And then the third book I'd say is What Got You Here Will Not Get You There. So it's the one with like a little ladder that you see on the COVID page. And I think that's interesting because once you get to a certain level in your career, you kind of feel you're stuck and whatever got you there will not get you to the next level. And I think that's really the focus that I want people to kind of take from that is you need to start thinking of strategy and vision a little differently than just pure execution. So how do you kind of get to that?

That is powerful. Thank you so much for sharing that. So is there a movie, a song, or a book that you would consider your life's theme or anthem?

Oh gosh. Hmm. Oh my gosh. Only the only songs coming to my mind is Disney songs. So, you know, this is how much impact my kids have had on me.

Disney is perfectly fine. A lot of the songs are very positive. Now, I am a musician and I think music is extremely powerful. Almost all of the major milestones in my life, I remember the soundtrack that was playing in my mind during those times. And sometimes very inspirational too.

But yeah, I will share the newest one. So the movie, the K-pop movie, The 100, that just came out, Going Up Up Up. I love that song. So I don't know if you've heard or seen that, but it's really fun and everybody can kind of like move along with the beat. But It kind of gets you really excited. So those are the songs I end up liking, is that gets you motivated and inspired to kind of be more and do more.

Wow, that is really cool. Say the name of the K-pop movie again, please.

It's called Huntrix.

Oh, okay, okay. This is what's very interesting. I have two Black girls in my home, African-American, but they're all into K-pop. And what really shocked me, uh, I was in Paris, uh, it was two years ago now. My cousins and nieces, you have a Black African French citizen singing and dancing K-pop music, like in Korean. I'm like, I can't believe this. Like, my own daughter understands Korean pretty, pretty well. I told you I use AI to translate a lot of my show. She was able to translate to me from Korean back to English, and I'm just blown away. Because when I was growing up, especially American, usually it's Black American music that's so exported around the world. So I've never really seen American kids, you know, dancing and listening to foreign music, but K-pop has really pierced through. I know, I think BTS, one of the biggest bands, I think they're coming to the Bay Area next year, and my daughter is already on top of it. She's gonna make sure to get tickets. But it's just amazing to see. That's what I'm talking about, right? The power of music, the power of the sound. Wow, powerful. Okay, uh, what have you done that we should do? As well, things that have positively impacted your life or your career?

I just, I just leave with this one simple thing, which is if you're thinking to do something, do it. Do it. And this is why I love Nike. I'm like, I think they have the best brand code in history.

Just do it.

Yes. Wow, that is powerful. Yeah, just do it.

Yeah.

And I also like when you talk about fear. Even my, my mentor, Shelley, she had a post today on Chaplain, where she talked about fear, where you still have to feel the fear but do it anyway. I think that's really what stops the great majority of people. They just feel fear and then they just don't do anything. They're like paralysis by analysis. But if you do something, you may not always be successful, but at least you have a chance, right? You have an opportunity. Whereas if you do nothing, absolutely nothing is going to change.

The—

in that important, like, the just do it word, people think the word do is most important.

Important.

That is not the most important word. The important word is just.

Wow.

You, regardless of what mindset, regardless of what emotional state, regardless of how you're feeling, just do it.

So the most important word is amazing. You just reminded me another one of my mentors, Darren Hardy. He says the difference between successful people and those who are not— successful people don't like doing the thing that makes them successful the same way as unsuccessful people don't like doing them, but they do what they need to do when they need to do it, whether they feel like it or not. That is so important. Just do it. I may not feel like it, but I'm gonna go to a gym. I may not feel like it, but I'm gonna study. I may not feel like it, I'm gonna read this book. I may not feel like it, but I'm gonna do it because I need to do it. And no matter how I feel, yeah, just do it.

I suck at running. I will just share this. It was my husband's birthday yesterday, and he really wants to kind of do a running competition. He hasn't done one. I've done one. Marathon. I sucked at it, I still did it. For his birthday, I bought 2 tickets to a half marathon because I knew he would be alone, so I'm doing it with him. For me, the just part is really real right now. I really do not want to go running, especially a half. That means 13 miles. Like, I could do 2 miles, no problem. Anything over 2 miles is too much. 5K is pushing it. So it's gonna really require a lot of mental, you know, attitude and strength and whatnot, and I just need to do it. So Yes.

Yeah, yeah, you remind me, I was a couch potato when I joined the Navy 21 years ago. I remember when I ran my first mile and a half, I mean, I thought I was going to die. But after boot camp, I was able to do it in 10 minutes and what, 40, 45 seconds. But that very, very first time, yeah, I think I actually passed out if I remember the first time I tried to run a mile and a half. They had to send in the corpsman and the medical team to come help me out. But Basically, I felt like I was going to have a heart attack, but the problem is, no, it wasn't a heart attack. I just was too couch potato-ish, right? I just wasn't moving at all. And when my body started getting into movement, I felt like I was going to die, but the truth is, no, I was just out of shape. But anyway, the Navy fixed it for me, but important. Well, all right. We only have, uh, can I get 5 more minutes? Yeah, please. Okay, thank you, thank you. We almost at the very end. So, uh, let me ask you this, uh, if you had one and only one day to live, what would you have liked your final contribution to be?

If I only had one day to live, I'd want to make as many people smile as possible. Just, just forget about the worries and just smile.

That's powerful, powerful. Thank you. And, uh, if you had a magic wand and you could solve any problem, when you wake up in the morning, what is one problem you would like to solve?

Give people a purpose. Everybody have a purpose. Nothing is too small.

Powerful, powerful. All right, so we've come to the end of the show, that's where I ask you, uh, what can we do for you? How can we add value back to you, Coach Divya?

Yes, I would. So if there are folks in your network or anybody who's listening and you are like, hey, I would love to kind of be part of that coaching 12-week cohort program, would love for you to reach out. It will only be 10 spots, so, um, I already have 3 claimed and I haven't even officially launched it launches next week. So that's really my purpose, is to help people, but also in a close-knit small group so that we can help you think about your next level and, you know, project your growth. So that would be the biggest thing. And follow me on Instagram, uh, Invest with Divya. And then if you're ever interested in real estate, we can have a conversation about that too.

Fantastic. Do you have a website they can go to to enroll in your coaching program?

For now they can message me, but the website is launching on Monday.

Okay, fantastic. Uh, so on LinkedIn, on Divya Smith, and what is the website URL going to be?

It's going to be called Ascend Limitless.

Fantastic. All right, thank you so much for sharing that. Okay, we are coming toward, uh, the close. All good things should come to an end. Uh, before I do ask you the last question, let me ask you, is there a question I should have asked you that I haven't asked yet?

I think you asked me great questions. You know, final thing I would love to ask you, Coach BZ, is I loved being on this podcast, so I would love to hear from you, just a quick couple sentences to share. You bring in all these speakers. What is your purpose or goal in kind of wanting to kind of bring and have these great conversations?

Well, for one thing, I really love to put the spotlight on people like you. I think you guys are unsung heroes. I don't know why, but America, I believe, is still the best country in the world. There is nothing like the USA, but we are still pretty much a misogynistic country, right? We are sexist. Women don't get paid as much as men for the same job, same background, same experience. Men get paid a lot more. I think women start at 80 cents on the dollar. So like I say, I am the only male in my house. My wife is a woman, my two daughters are women. One of them graduated from school last year, and I really don't see why you should have less opportunity than a male just because of her gender. That just makes absolutely no sense. So for one thing, Yes, I do interview men too, but one of the spotlight I want to put on are women who are successful doing things at a very high level like yourself. I want everybody to know it. I maxed out on my LinkedIn connections. I have 30,000 first-degree connections plus another 34,000 who follow me. So about 64,000 people or so might have a chance to listen to you and know what you do and hopefully be in your coaching class or do business with you. But I just want to celebrate you And that's part of the reason why I do this. But another part too is my primary mentor, Dr. Maxwell, taught us that once you test significance, success will no longer satisfy. I think for most people, they want to be successful and success means different things to different people. But generally speaking, when you're just getting started in life, you want to have a car, you want to have a house, you want to have all of these things, things me, me, myself and I promoted and so forth. So I started at the very bottom in Benin. What I was in E1, Seaman Recruit. Today I am toward the very, very top. I am a senior officer in the most powerful Navy in the world. In technology, I started at the very bottom. I was an intern. Like I told you, I was trying to look for a job. I applied for all of the jobs. Nobody would give me a chance until one woman, she gave me— I still remember her, right? Even today I am still in touch with that one because she completely changed my life. Because of her, I now have the experience. I mean, I was able to get much better jobs, uh, later on. But if she never gave me gave me a chance, I wouldn't be me. I would not be where I am today. So in a way, I really want to give back. I've been in the Navy 21 years. I think I'm going to be retiring by the end of this year. So I really want to help develop the next leaders. In tech, I love tech so much, and I will probably going to stay in high technology for another 15 or 20 years, but at some point I will have to retire. Is trying to build the next Chief Information Security Officer, the next Chief Information Officer, the next information warfare commander. That's really my mission and purpose in life. So that's kind of why I do this.

Thank you so much for sharing that.

I appreciate it.

Thank you so much for sharing that.

All right, so now let me ask you the most important question of the podcast then. And it's very interesting that you and I, we were about 17 years old when we came to this country. I had big, big dreams, but I had no idea how to accomplish them. So if you could go back and give a piece of advice to your 17-year-old self at the edge of this incredible career you've had in the US, what would you say to 17-year-old Divya?

Um, I would say that take a moment to enjoy everything that you've built. Even at that time, I think the focus was so much future, the focus was so much survival, that sometimes it was hard to look back and just even see what you accomplished that week, that month, you know. Here. So take time to just, even if it's just a quick reflection, um, take time to celebrate because life is short. You know, I still remember clearly the day I had moved, and now, you know, you, you kind of move on through decades of life realizing, wow, there's so much goodness that's happened without celebrations.

Wow, that is very, very powerful. Thank you. Okay, now to finish the show, this is going to be really rapid-fire lightning round, so don't take too long to think One word that defines great leadership?

Great.

Okay, morning routine or practice that keeps you grounded?

Yoga.

Okay, book or quote that changed your life?

Atomic Habits.

Yeah, that's that book again. Hey, James Clear, we need that 12 to check ASAP, please. Yeah, here he is. All right, so who inspires you the most today?

You.

Wow, thank you. Okay, okay, uh, finish your sentence. Leadership is—

leadership is our, um, our duty to kind of move the generation behind us forward, or younger than us forward.

That is powerful. Our duty to move a generation behind us forward. That is powerful. Okay, uh, what did you want to do when you were a kid?

Um, what did I want to do when I was a kid? I think I just wanted to like—

okay, so my role model was Mother Teresa. So at some point in time, I really did want to kind of follow her footsteps and help the people who couldn't help themselves. So I think that's still somewhere in me, and I'll figure out a way to do that.

Wow, I think you're already doing that. Uh, but, uh, wow, fantastic. 3 adjectives describing you as a child.

As a what?

As a child, 3 adjectives.

Okay, high energy, ambitious, and visionary.

Okay, as an adult, purposeful, kind, motivated. Well, thank you so much. This is it, this is the end of the show. And the last question I'm gonna ask, what is one word that represents our shared experience on this podcast today.

Inspiring.

Okay, I'm just so grateful. Thank you so much, Coach Divya Smith, and thank you for everything you do and keep doing it because we really, really love the impact you're having.

Thanks again for having me.

All right, well everyone, this was Coach Divya Smith, and thank you so much for watching. Again, I want everybody to please follow her on LinkedIn and reach out to her about the coaching she's going to have could be life-changing. LinkedIn.com/in/DeviyaSmith. And also, I want to remind you that tomorrow I will be having a 10-minute AI recap of the leadership conversation I had with my mentor, Shelly Archambault, Fortune 500 board director, strategic advisor, bestselling author, and keynote speaker. She's one of the very first Black female CEOs in Silicon Valley. And we are going to have that 10-minute recap tomorrow. Again, every time I meet her, I always tell her, when I grow up, I want to be just like you. What a great example, role model she is. And she's helping so many people, including myself, with their career right now. So I think everybody needs to have a coach. Even coaches need to have coaches themselves. So you don't want to miss it. I believe that's all I have. I don't see any questions on LinkedIn or YouTube. Okay, until tomorrow, have a wonderful day. Bye for now.

It took me 4 years to get to a point where I could take a summer off with my kids, and that, that's huge for me. But finally, this was the first summer where I did have, you know, the whole time with my kids.

Uh, I'll have 6 years with both of them together in-house. So for me, like, that's a countdown as well that we only have 6 summers together before they, you know, become adults and kind of go off to their own life.

So that's, that's been a blessing, but it took planning and it took effort.

And I can't stress enough, planning really gets you the right results. You got to really think about.

Thank you for tuning in to the Leadership and Success Podcast with your host, Coach BZ. If today's episode added value to your leadership journey, be sure to subscribe, share, and join us again for more wisdom nuggets on how to lead better and achieve greater success. Remember, leadership is the most critical skill of our time. The world will always need leaders to inspire others, drive innovation, and execute meaningful strategy. So why not count yourself among the bold leaders shaping the 21st century? Until next time, stay inspired, stay committed, and keep leading with excellence.