The REALTOR® Who Refused to Quit: Michael Zinskie's Story || Leigh Brown

I'm Leigh Brown. This is Real Talk with Leigh Brown. Today I've got an episode that's, of course, going to have your crazy real estate story at the end. But we have to have a pretty intense conversation because a lot of y'all out there are not in a great place and you might think you're all alone. Mikey Zinski is going to show you how to keep going and that you're not alone. So enjoy this conversation and I'll see you on the other side. You sat in the back of the classroom growing up, didn't you?

I did. I was always last, so I had time to do my homework.

And you were back of the line because the line leaders always put us in alphabetical order. So did you talk too much as a kid because you had the opportunity?

A little bit. I was a good student, Leigh. I was a really good student. Yeah, I didn't want to get—

I didn't say you weren't a good student. I didn't ask about your academics. I'm asking about your behavior.

That's true. That's another podcast, okay?

Because I had good grades, but I was a chatterbox because being a T with my maiden name, I was way in the back with Dean Scatitas, and we talked a lot back there. Emily Traxler.

Mine were Ziegler, Kenneth Ziegler. Yeah, we, um, we did get in trouble for talking, and but it's okay.

We weren't bad kids though. They told us to shut up, we did, because that was a different era. What do they say? We're the wooden spoon generation.

Let me tell you. Yep. I didn't want to get paddled.

No, because I remember in our school, the principal who used the paddle, the teachers left their doors open when he was paddling somebody and you could hear that thing whistling down the hallway and everybody said, you can hear them screaming. And I'm like, oh my gosh, maybe we should bring that back because a little bit of consequences helps a lot. In fact, real estate's no different. I mean, if we don't, do things well, then we don't have more future business. There's real life consequences. So maybe young people should learn that. That's a different podcast episode.

Oh, that's a totally different one too. Oh my gosh.

All right. So maybe we should tell people who Mikey Zinski is, where you're located, how long you've been in and around real estate. What's a little bit of backstory on you, sir?

Okay. So my name is Mikey Zinski, Michael, but I've been called Mikey my whole life and been teased about I'll eat anything. And everything. I still hear that today. Um, real estate. Uh, I got my license back in 2005 in Franklin, North Carolina. Yep. And went to school in Waynesville, North Carolina. That's where my little school was.

I love Waynesville.

Yeah, I remember driving around the— through Silva, that big mountain, Cowee Mountain, I think. And we were new to the area and it scared the daylight out of me. You know, I just thought I was going to run off the road.

Um, people have—

oh, I see, we've seen trucks laying offside of the road. So I was so scared. But anyway, beautiful place. Love real estate. I'm back home though. I grew up here in Brunswick, Georgia. This is home. So around St. Simons, Jekyll, and now this is just my town. And when we moved back, I just reciprocated my license here and had a little snag for a while with some health issues, so I had to back off. Which those started in North Carolina. So that's, that's a crazy story. But once I reactivated my license here, it's been hitting the road ever since because I just absolutely love it. This is my thing.

So I know that, well, my listeners probably know I don't really prep any episodes. We just dive in and start talking, but a lot of my followers, they will ask questions about how do I X, and one of the top things I get is how do I keep going, get going again when I change markets. That's one of the things you've done. But the other one is when I have health issues, family issues, personal issues, they've fallen off because they had to and they don't know how to get started again. So which angle would you be open to talking about? Because I know that's going to resonate with the great people who follow this show.

No, any angle. I'm, I'm, I feel comfortable talking about anything.

Okay, then let's go after the hard one then. So you had some health issues crop up, and were they the kind that take you completely out of real estate, or they just cut your hours back? Was it your energy or your ability, or what, what went wrong?

Everything, everything falls into this category. I started having seizures.

Oh, so you couldn't drive?

I couldn't drive, so they took my license. I mean, I lost everything. And then, you know, your mind, you just go into this world where, okay, well, I'm done for. I'm gonna have to figure out disability, or we're gonna have to figure out my seizures. You know, we had a newborn at the time as well. And so now my wife is the only one working. So I'm trying to figure something out. So it's just— and as a man, I'm like, I can't take care of my household. You know, like, what good am I? So you spiral. So what's important is surrounding yourself with good, positive, upbuilding people. Your association is— will make or break you. I, I'm a firm believer in that. What's that? 1 Corinthians 15:33. Bad association spoils useful habits.

Yes.

And that is so true. Um, so I had to surround myself with people that would build me up because my own inner voice would constantly tear me down.

Um, that wasn't your inner voice. That's called Satan. But anyway, so were you care— Carolina Smokies at the time, I guess.

Uh, well, that started in North Carolina, and let's see, the grandparents lived down here in Brunswick, Georgia, so we didn't have that immediate family. My wife and I just wanted to move away. Let's start somewhere fresh. Not because of our in-laws, because we have great parents, um, but we just always visited up there, and we were like, let's move up there. And we made a ton of friends up there that are still up there, and they would help the best that they could, but you know, they had families and lives and things like that too, so I couldn't just be a burden on everybody. When I got my license up there, I hit the road running and it was good, but then I started having like just frequent seizures. And I even had a seizure and it wasn't the where I'm shaking kind of seizure. This is— it was called gelastic seizures, and that's where you laugh and you clap. Out of nowhere, and then I just come back like you and I are talking. But to me, yeah, nothing happened.

So like a Tourette's but with physical actions instead of words, right?

Something like that. And it was very brief, and I would just bust out laughing out of nowhere and clapping. And then sometimes you would just kind of go into a stare, you know, like the grand mal seizures, things like that. And one of my clients, I remember we were sitting in the office And, uh, having a conversation with him. And then all of a sudden to me, he's just looking at me like, are you okay? Like, what's going on? And I had no clue what he was talking about. And I think that was one of my first, like, real ones. And, um, and which they were very cool people.

And yet, and so, I mean, clients do give us a lot of slack in real estate. And I don't know that realtors give enough credit to their clients because of course there's the occasional jerk who's super demanding and awful, but A lot of our people, they walk with us through things like this, and they don't throw us out when life gets in the way. And that's, that's a life thing when you have a health issue. So when you move to Georgia, and you go from the high country to literally zero elevation swampland—

Exactly.

How do you, how do you transition when you're still not able to be the guy you're used to being and you're not in the provider space you're used to being in. How did you pick up the pieces and get started?

Well, again, just having good friends here. You know, there were people here we grew up with. I had a stepfather who had a business here and I worked with him when I, while I was a teenager. So I just kind of, he gave me something to do. So that was, you know, got me out of the house.

Activity. Yes.

And I was around people, conversation, you know, we would always cook out and there's a lot of seafood here, so we would do a lot of seafood. I mean, it was great. And, but I was constantly, my seizures were progressively getting worse and worse and worse. In which my wife Lauren, I have to, she was there like unabsolutely believable. She worked so hard. And what's that proverb? Capable wife, you know, when you have that capable wife.

100%.

Oh my gosh, I couldn't do it by myself.

Her value is beyond rubies.

Oh yeah, more precious than corals. Yeah, and she did, she took care of everything. She's trying to take care of the house, you know, take care of Evan because Evan was little at the time. Uh, she was, I think, waitressing at the time. You met her though when you came down to Brunswick and talked at the Ritz. She's, uh, the AE at, uh, the Golden Isles Association of Realtors now. And she's super excited. I'm like, I want to have a podcast with Leigh. She's like, ah, I'll tell her. I said, hey.

And for you non-real estate people, that's an association executive. So basically it's the chief cat herder of realtors who need somebody to remind them to do continuing education and to talk to each other and to be kind and ethical. So maybe that's the big job.

She's good because she's a mama bear. She's good at that.

Yeah. And there's a lot of us that need mama bearing.

Tell me about it. Um, but it was just picking up the pieces though. I have a couple of friends down here who are realtors. They've been realtors forever, and I'd always reach out to them, you know, like, how's it going? You know, I'm thinking about reactivating my license. You know, what do you think I should do? Just so a support system is what I had.

And what'd they say? Come on in, the water's fine.

Oh, just come by the— no, come by the office. I remember this. Stephanie would always say, come by the office, and I would come in and sit down with her and talk with her, you know, because I've known them since I was, you know, 12, 13 years old, just growing up here. I just— I know all these people, right? And, uh, and it was good just getting out of the house. I was busy doing something. Then I was able to, you know, because I've always loved doing this and I wanted to get back doing this, but I knew I had to get some things straightened out in my life health-wise and things like that. Before I jumped back into it. But it was positive for me. It was good for them to just, you know, let me tag along. Let me just feel like I'm part of it. And that helped me. That helped me a lot.

Okay. So for the person listening to this who says, well, sure, Mikey, you're in a place where people know you. I'm in a place where I don't have friends and family. How do I get activity going? How do I get started? What would you say to that person? For whom, let's just admit it, that the negative talk has gotten really loud. Because that's what happens is we have the negative self-talk, which is fed by Satan. And so the devil's in here messing with you, and it gets where you can only hear the negative. They don't, they don't even know how to take that first step of activity. So you've been in painful, painful shoes, probably scared to make a step because Seizures, of course, can't be predicted. What would you say to this person who says they don't have a Jessica, they don't have a Lauren, they don't have somebody to call?

Yeah. Um, well, you can't isolate yourself. That's one important thing. You have to, it's like, you have to take action and you have to not be afraid to fail and not be afraid to make mistakes because that's just all part of growth. You know, as I look back, I can look at a lot, a lot of mistakes and failures and times I was like, I don't want to talk to nobody. I'm depressed.

Prayer.

Oh my gosh, you have to pray because you can't do it on your own. I think that's the bottom line. You cannot absolutely do this on your own.

That's probably the main message about real estate, to be honest.

I mean, I agree with that too.

When we get our license, we're almost trained by the licensing instructors, and, and we love you, by the way, all my licensing people who watch this, we love you, but In pre-licensing, you're told that it's all you, it's on you, you're going to be an island and you're going to be competing, competing, competing. And it's true, it is competitive and you are in charge of your business. But real estate by its nature is wildly collaborative. And the successful people are collaborative. The ones who get beat down are in little tiny silos who think they're all alone, everybody's out to get them, or that they are so good they're on the island by themselves. And it's just not so. Nobody in any market can handle every listing, every buyer, or solve any problem by themselves. Because I'd be nothing if I hadn't started with my dad. I mean, I might have been okay, but I wouldn't be where I am because I had somebody to ask. And so when you have somebody to ask, if you don't know them today, they're still out there.

Yeah.

And if you've changed markets, I will tell you that going to your association and showing up for a member luncheon is where you will find the 20 to 100 people who are dedicated to this profession.

Yes, they are.

And you might not agree with them and you might not like them, but they know things and they will answer your questions. And I think that's where you start fighting out when your activity is at zero, whether it's because you moved or because you've been sick or because you got lazy or because the market sucks or whatever the reason is, you have to do something. And so when you're fighting through and your something when you get to Brunswick looks like shadowing, going to offices, visiting, what was it that gave you the confidence to work with a client again even while dealing with seizures? Were you— was your diagnosis handled? Did you have medication? Did you feel safe driving people around? How did you go from point A to point B?

Well, the diagnosis, it was taken care of by the time I reactivated my license here because that was my goal, is I had to get this under control, right, before I jump back in the business because the medication was super expensive. Um, and plus the side effects of the medication had, you know, its own challenges. And, um, was it sleepiness?

Were you going to get narcolepsy from your medication?

Well, the seizures—

that would be great while you're working in real estate.

Can you imagine? I know, like, am I boring? I'm sorry. Yeah, I promise. Or if they'll say something horrible and I start laughing, oh yeah, this is great, you know, and they're like, what are you talking about?

I'm not talking. I can't stop.

I promise it's not you, it's me. It's all—

you'd be a terrible, um, case witness in a lawsuit.

Oh, let me tell you. No, I've— so many scenarios have ran through my head. This is so funny, but I'm gonna go ahead and let you know, um, for several years I was going to a neurologist and trying to figure things out. The medicine— I was having about 3 to 5 seizures a night.

Oh my gosh, you weren't sleeping?

I wasn't sleeping. And you know how— what happens if you don't sleep? So, uh, that brought its own challenges. But I went to an old friend of mine that was a chiropractor here, and he gave me an adjustment. We were just talking, I told him what was happening, and he says, hey Mike, yeah, he goes, I know exactly what's going on with you. And he pressed on the back of my neck and then it hurt really bad. And he gave me one adjustment, and the next morning Lauren was like, you only had one seizure last night. She goes, you need to go back and see Ren. So I went back and saw Ren again, and he's laughing, and we do another adjustment, and now— and no more seizures. They all went away, and my chronic migraines went away as well.

I love that so much because there's a lot to be said for non-traditional medicine, and we're not going to go down that rabbit hole, but as a As a Maha Pureblood over here, I'm so glad that people are talking about the options now because, yes, that's fantastic.

It's just, um, and when that happened, you know, I had to wait a period of time because I was unsure, like, oh gosh, they're going to come back, you know, this is too good to be true, this isn't going to work. I had to wean off my medicine, um, so still dealing with side effects, but it probably took a whole nother year, I think, just to get my life in order, like me mentally and emotionally, to feel safe that I'm okay. Yeah, I can do this. And that's when I reached back out to Stephanie and told her, I'm like, you know, I'm doing good and I'm going to reactivate my license. And she's like, just— she goes, I'll put in a good word for you here at the brokerage. And, and, uh, she goes, just once you get your license, let us know. And I did, and it's been fast-paced ever since. Okay.

So how much of your journey do you share with clients and potential clients? Does this— do you let them know, hey, I am the kind of guy who overcomes obstacles, who understands challenges, and that's how we power through? Do you, or do you keep it all quiet? Because this is another question I get a lot, and I'm the person that says, The more vulnerable you are and the more transparent you are, the more people are attracted to you because they feel like you're the one who's gonna get it. Yeah.

Yeah. You're an actual human being. Uh, I, I don't put on a show. Uh, I am a vulnerable person and I will lay it out there and let people know. And I'm not afraid to share it because it's just me. And, and I've learned in the business, some people don't want to hear that, you know?

And that's okay too.

Yeah, that's fine. Yeah, and that's them. That's perfectly fine. And not to take anything personal, you know, because people are going through their own challenges and they're dealing with their own things in life that I'm— I don't know about. But I just try to use discernment in every situation. Every person I sit down with, I approach it as this is a fellow human. This is a fellow human beating heart right across the table from me, or wherever we are. And let's work together. If I can help you, I will do my absolute best, no matter how big the transaction is. I'm here to help you and be a friend and to be your friend after the transaction.

You know, I love that fellow human beating heart. That might be the episode title for this because it's so much better than fellow human. The fellow human beating heart is so, it's so visual, and I can hear it and sense it. That's a good— you should probably put that in your marketing.

Yeah, I could.

I work with fellow human beating hearts, which is going to make people say, this guy's weird, interesting, and I need to call him.

Yeah, I should. I can use all the help I can get.

Yeah, I mean, we all can. All right. So in looking at your, your bumps in the road and your journeys, highs, lows, moving back up onto the mountaintop, and we know valleys come next. If you look at the things that have gone on and you could go back in the time machine, in the DeLorean, to the distant past, what would you do differently?

Well, to me, I'm where I'm at right now because of everything that's happened, and I don't want to change who I am right now because I know right now today I'm going to be different tomorrow. My goal is to grow. So I can't go back and try to perfect things and, and make it seem like it's perfect or create this perfect image. I can't do that. That's just—

that is a very mature perspective, Mikey. Lauren's going to be very appreciative of this episode because, um, I hope so.

She helps me.

Okay, so if even if it weren't going to change the outcome, if there was something you wish you'd done better— come on, man, help my audience out.

Okay. Something I wish I'd done better.

What obstacle did they avoid that you encountered, but you would like them to learn from you?

Um, I would have to say, and this was probably from the, my biggest struggle was listening to myself. To not, because sometimes I would get really depressed because I just got lost in my head.

Right.

And I would focus on all the bad things that were going on. And then I would create these scenarios that weren't even reality, right? And it would even— and then that would affect me, and it's not even real. It's not even happening to me. Um, so if I could go back, I would sit down with myself and say, don't listen to yourself.

Okay.

You know, you're going to be okay. It's going to be fine.

No catastrophizing.

Yeah. And don't forget you have friends. You have people that love you. That's what I tell myself. And then don't, don't shut them out.

Let them look. You could probably say that one again because I bet there's a lot of people out there who think they have nobody, but they haven't reached out to them, so they don't know that their people are still out there.

They are out there because you tend to like blame people or get angry at people, like, well, they don't talk to me and they don't reach out to me, they don't care about me. But what are they going through, right? What are they could be going through some serious issues as well and need somebody to support them. And it's amazing how powerful just one phone call or text or a hug, like just being face to face and just being able to cry together and hug each other can make it just work its magic. Yeah.

Okay. So I gotta, I gotta say it and we all know it. You get in real estate long enough. Your friend who lives a street over is listing their house with somebody else and you saw the yard sign go up. You are mad as a wet hen. Like, how dare they? They are not loyal. And we get so indignant and mad. And I asked somebody this just recently. I said, well, when was the last time you called them and said, hey? Well, that they've known me for. But, but, but did you, did you talk to them? Because if you didn't, then you weren't top of mind. And it's not that they don't like you and respect you, but why would they use you if they forgot you? And yep, I say this as somebody who's gotten my feelings hurt terribly by people using somebody else. Well, um, there's a way to cut that out, and it's by talking to people.

Communication And, um, that's why it's funny, communication is a big thing. Uh, and look, my wife Lauren has helped me with that because I grew up in a family environment where nobody talked.

Okay.

So I struggled with that for the longest time.

She doesn't struggle with that.

She doesn't? No, no, their family's from New Jersey, so they, uh, you know, they just, they tell you everything. And I was like, oh God, I'm not used to this. Like, what's happening?

Oh, I know everything now. Okay.

Yeah, it's great. Like The first family event. And I'm like, wow.

Was it before or after the wedding that you found all these things out? It was before.

I had to meet the family before.

Look, my husband says if he'd met my family before, he probably wouldn't have married me. And I said, that's fair.

Oh, I love it. I love it. But no communication. And, um, I think one of your, I was following you on TikTok. I started watching you. I remember when you came down to the Ritz and talked, I enjoyed it. I, I. Absorbed every bit of it. And I'm like, well, let me look you up. And then you had a video about tough conversations, having tough conversations with people. And so many people avoid tough conversations or try to skirt around it. And that's one thing that helped me because I had to have a tough conversation with myself, you know, uh, to get past my challenges. But that's one thing that's really helped me in my business is being able to like really sit down with people and be a professional and have the conversation with them because I want them to succeed. And you know how emotions can get in the way.

Yes.

So you got to help them, hold their hand and help them. Hey, let's get through. We can get through this. This seems like this crazy challenge, but this is just part of it. Let's get through it and we'll be able to make it happen.

You just gave me a second episode title: Having Tough Conversations Because You Want Somebody Else to Succeed.

Yeah.

And I think that's showing up right now because as we record this, a lot of agents are— because they've been in the business less than 5 years, they're having the first conversation with a seller about this price isn't working, we need to lower it. And they're not sure how to navigate that because they don't want to have a negative conversation. But it's not negative, it's tough. There's two different things.

Right. That's true. See, That's, that's very true. There, there's a big difference between being neg— you know, a negative conversation and a tough conversation. That is so true.

All right, so let me ask you a mom question because obviously, did you have short-term disability insurance when all of this stuff started shaking out?

We did not.

Do you wish you had? I wish I had that because I have found most realtors don't know they can get it, and if they know about it, they don't have it. And of course, I'm not pimping for Aflac, but that's the only one I can ever think of because it's stupid.

Yeah, Aflac's easy.

You should check into short-term disability real estate people because if you fall off a porch measuring a house or you have a car accident or a seizure, you can't work. So it's pretty wise to have insurance of some sort. Just saying.

No, that's a really good idea because that would have helped. That would have really helped us. But Thankfully, we had friends and family and family that really, you know, helped us get through that time.

So, okay, so that was not the direction you probably wanted to go in, but did you have any crazy fun stories you wanted to share? Because now I got people sitting over there thinking and taking some notes about life in general. But let's, let's wrap up the episode on something that's going to make them say, Mikey, uh-uh, what, what have you encountered in real estate?

When I got my license activated, I was super excited. I came into the office and I'm like, I'm okay, I'm back in the game, you know. And I was— I think I was doing— I forgot how I got this buyer, I can't remember now. But anyway, we went and looked at a home, toured it, and then that afternoon my broker calls me and she goes, Mikey, I need to talk to you about something. And I'm like, okay. And my broker's sweet as all— the sweetest person. She's like another mama bear. So Pat calls me, we need to talk. And I'm like, okay. And she goes, the homeowner at so-and-so said you stole their medicine from their dresser.

Mikey, did you steal medicine from a showing? You took it away.

I was like, well, I said, I can confidently say no, I didn't steal anybody's medicine.

And she goes, why are you asking?

Well, they have you on camera, they said. And I said, well, well Well, let's just ask for the footage, you know. Let's just— and this is me, I've learned to stay calm. I'm not going to overreact. I said, well, let's just get the footage and see what happened. And it was kind of going back and forth. Then a detective got in, got involved, and then the detective pulled me. And all right, listen, I know the detective because we grew up together, and he knows I'm not going to do that. So Corey calls me and he's like, Mikey, he goes, I just want to let you know We run into this all the time. People who are abusing narcotics, over-the-counter medication or whatever, or prescriptions, they will make a claim that somebody stole their medicine to get more.

What?

Yeah. So he goes, don't worry about it. He goes, I'll talk to you, you know, because I know you didn't steal it and it's just gonna, it's gonna take a minute to iron this out. He said, but just lay low. Don't, don't make sure you don't say nothing negative about anybody. Don't get all caught up in it. You go do your thing, handle your business, and keep doing your thing, and I'll take care of this. And sure enough, you know, they never produced the footage or anything like that. And I'm just like, I mean, I'm thinking, oh gosh, somebody's gonna like create something, you know, or somehow show that I did something.

But I mean, what were they expecting, a cash payout from your brokerage because you stole medicine to get more medicines?

To get more medicine. They, they just figured if they file a claim that somebody stole their medicine, they could call the pharmacy and they'll be like, oh, just get a script like that. Yep, just do that.

I'm so naive. I knew people were stealing medicine, but I didn't know that sellers were claiming it was stolen when it wasn't stolen so they could get more.

So always go with— I've learned to never wander in an open house or a listing all by yourself and just being nosy. Always have two people with you. Yes. And, um, so I learned that pretty quick. And so now when I go into a house, some sellers like, hey, I left the door open, you can go in. And if I get there before my client gets there, I'll just wait in the car. I'll just do that.

Or you can just talk to the Ring. I talk to the Ring like, hello, hello, hello, Ring.

Yeah, I know it's true.

And be a little bit over the top because that's always a good thing too.

It's a good thing. No, it's all right. But, um, that was pretty scary. And I have to admit, you know, I was nervous because I'm thinking, oh gosh, my broker, like, they're gonna just fire me. Like, I don't want to deal with this, you know, because I didn't know my broker that well. But I still had the agent that, you know, got me in there.

But the question is, Mikey, did the buyer buy the house? I mean, we have to know if that happened.

They didn't buy the house. We found another house.

Okay. Yep, we found another one because they felt bad juju from a seller accusing you of stealing drugs.

I think they just didn't like the house because they ended up buying in a whole nother neighborhood, you know, and we found them the perfect house too. So that's good.

Of course, everything happens for a reason.

And I hope the seller sold their, you know, just, I hope the best for them.

Well, I hope they go to your chiropractor and find out they don't need all those foreign substances. They could actually find a better way and break the addiction.

It was crazy. That was a pretty scary Like, oh my gosh, all things— this is my first home I'm showing and I'm back in the game and this is what I'm dealing with.

Because you knew Corey was going to tell all his buddies down at the sheriff's department, be like, y'all ain't gonna believe this, guess who I heard about today? I talked to Mike Kennedy. What? Mike? He says, yeah, I remember him. Because you know how that goes.

I know, put him in jail. Yeah, go pick him up.

Just, just put him across the dispatch and just see what happens.

That's right.

Hey, Corey, if you're watching this, just saying it'd be a lot of fun and Lauren would laugh too. We promise.

Oh man. Oh, it's some good times. Some good times. But yeah, that was probably the funniest thing that has happened to me so far.

Well, here's the other question. Did it change how you conduct anything besides not being alone in the house? Do you warn your buyers? Do you warn your sellers? Have you added any information to your presentation?

Yes, I always tell my clients, like, if I'm working with buyers, to never go through a house and start tearing it apart and just being all vocal about it, because everything— you never know when you're being recorded. Um, we'll always have— right, we'll always have those discussions in my office and things like that. So that's one thing that I learned.

And knowing the deputies— everybody should know some deputies around you.

So go down and network with the police department.

They know you're not the bad guy.

Yeah. Network with the police, show up for the— show up for functions in town. You know, when your town or county or little area has events, go to them and meet people and network and let people see your face. So if anything ever comes up down the road, they know who you are.

That's great advice, actually, because it starts a conversation that you may never have to have, but it's good for our communities to know each other. I like that advice.

Yeah. It's good for us to know each other. And, and like you talked about a while back, or you mentioned earlier about collaborating, we not only collaborate with realtors, but our whole community. We collaborate with everybody.

Yes.

Because we are, we are right in the middle. We are the heart of this community and we can make it thrive. We can make it breathe good, you know?

Which reminds me, we're just a few days ahead of an off-cycle municipal election and I haven't made a video with my picks. I need to do that because we are in the heart of everything. And I need to attract some attention. Mikey, if somebody— Do what?

I said you do an absolutely wonderful job, I have to tell you.

I mean, we all got a role to play where we live. The question is, what are you going to do to live that role? And what you're doing is setting a great example for perseverance and for being around your people in a good, positive way and just fighting off the negative with activity. I just love that. And so, yep, yay for your health and yay for your perseverance and yay for being an example of a strong marriage and yay for real estate that we get to have you in this profession. Mikey, if somebody wants to reach out to you to find out more about where you serve in Georgia, or they just want to make a friend with you, what is the best way for them to track you down?

They— listen, they can call me or text me or email me. I'm fine, I'm fine. Do you want me to give you my phone number right now? Because I can give it out, or—

I'll put it in the show notes for the episode just in case you switch to a burner phone, then nobody really has to know. Your number will be there. But y'all, all of his contact information is in the show notes for this episode. But spoiler alert, if you call Corey down at the Sheriff's Department to get a hold of him, I need to know about that for a future episode. That would be hilarious. I'm just saying. But in the meantime, thank you so much for coming on the show and thank you for being willing to go down a pathway that for a lot of people is uncomfortable. But there are listeners and viewers who desperately needed a dose of optimism from you. So thank you for sharing that today.

I can't thank you enough for letting me be a part of this. So it's a privilege to me. I'm so thankful.

That's what we do for each other, friend. That's what collaboration is. So say something nice about Mikey in the comments. Go to the show notes to connect with him about all your Brunswick, Georgia needs, and make sure you hit the bell to subscribe so we can see you next time.

Thank you so much, everybody. Thank you, Leigh Thomas Brown.

It's always my pleasure.

All right, take it easy.

Now, if this episode brought you value, made you laugh, cry, or in between, then don't forget to subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and share this with somebody else in the real estate trenches. You will find A Real Talk with Leigh Thomas Brown on every major podcast app. So hit follow and I'll see you in the next conversation. Don't forget to DM me if you've got a story. I might just want to feature you next.