Send a text

What does it take to trade a surfer’s dream for a generational legacy? We sit down with Dano, a 40-year Maui veteran who bought his first home at 18 percent interest and still calls real estate the best place to invest. From carrying grout as a tile setter’s apprentice to representing entire new-home neighborhoods, Dano shows how humility, construction know-how, and patience compound into a career that outlasts market cycles and headlines.

We unpack the gritty middle most people skip: selling the dream house to fund runway, working three jobs with a newborn, and lending on a spec build that turned into a masterclass in how Maui homes actually get made. That hands-on education led to developer representation in the 1990s, translating blueprints into lived-in dreams for hundreds of families. His biggest win isn’t a single record sale; it’s a community that still says thank you in the grocery aisle. His biggest miss is the one many agents recognize too late: flipping too often instead of holding rentals that would now be million-dollar assets throwing steady cash.

Then comes the reset. Staring down the mirror at year’s turn, Dano chose health first: no alcohol, cleaner fuel, daily movement, and a calendar built for leadership. The result is fresh fire for a statewide expansion, a culture that values people in rooms over endless remote drift, and mentorship that helps rookies make more money while serving clients better. Family remains the compass. His grandmother’s unconditional love echoes as he pours into his kids and grandkids, celebrating a son’s first $5.2M closing while still protecting mornings for twins and nap schedules.

If you’re an agent, investor, or builder wondering how to navigate high rates, low inventory, and burnout, this story offers a blueprint: buy and hold when the math works, master the fundamentals, protect your health, and build rooms where standards rise. Listen, take notes, and then decide what you’ll keep for decades instead of weeks. Enjoy the conversation and, if it hits home, subscribe, share with a colleague, and leave a quick review so more people can find it.

🎙 Thank You for Tuning in to the R.E.A.L. Real Estate Agent Life Podcast!

We appreciate you joining us for another powerful episode where we dive deep into the world of real estate, mindset, and business growth. If you found value in this conversation, be sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your network!

👉 Never Miss an Episode!

🎧 Listen on your favorite platform:

📍 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/r-e-a-l-real-estate-agent-life-podcast/id1790088933

📍 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2LAAYbtPUqYJdTVl83hZXS?si=bf6691d7eccf4688

📍 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@R.E.A.L.RealEstateAgentLif-l6z

📲 Stay Connected & Join the Conversation!

🔹 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shane.kilby

🔹 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shanekilby/

🔹 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shanekilby/

💡 Want to be a guest on the show?...

Send a text

Thinking about a real estate career but spooked by headlines? We pull back the curtain on why a so-called “down market” is actually the best launchpad for new and returning agents. We get real about mindset, work ethic, and the uncomfortable truth that the reward always matches the effort when you show up with consistency and purpose.

We dig into the difference between the order-taking years and the skill-building season we’re in now. Instead of chasing hype, learn how to create demand, manage relationships, and run a clean pipeline. We share a practical framework for avoiding tech overwhelm: solve one pain point at a time, master your CRM, and keep 150 people who know, like, and trust you in the loop with simple, high-value touches. You’ll hear why timing the market is a losing play, how hyperlocal reality defeats national noise, and why 24–30 closings a year can net six figures in many markets.

We also talk runway. Don’t enter broke—build a plan that keeps your bills paid while you commit 12–20 weekly hours to prospecting, follow-up, appointments, and contracts. Whether you’re 25 or 70, humility and coaching beat pride and guesswork. Plant the oak tree now so you’re ready when the next surge hits; by the time the boom is obvious, the prepared agents own the referrals and the market share.

If you’re curious, considering a switch, or stuck in fear and overwhelm, this conversation arms you with clear steps: define your why, block your calendar, practice until you can teach it, and serve first. Ready to build a business that compounds? Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs a push, and leave a review telling us the one skill you’ll master this month.

🎙 Thank You for Tuning in to the R.E.A.L. Real Estate Agent Life Podcast!

We appreciate you joining us for another powerful episode where we dive deep into the world of real estate, mindset, and business growth. If you found value in this conversation, be sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your network!

👉 Never Miss an Episode!

🎧 Listen on your favorite platform:

📍 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/r-e-a-l-real-estate-agent-life-podcast/id1790088933

📍 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2LAAYbtPUqYJdTVl83hZXS?si=bf6691d7eccf4688

📍 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@R.E.A.L.RealEstateAgentLif-l6z

📲 Stay Connected & Join the Conversation!

🔹 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shane.kilby

🔹 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shanekilby/

🔹 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shanekilby/

💡 Want to be a guest on the show?...

Send a text

What if the scariest first step became the moment that built your career?

That’s where Jennifer’s story starts: a last-minute sign call, zero experience opening a lockbox, and a choice to lead with courage and connection.

That humble beginning grew into a real estate business defined by a servant’s heart, clear roles, and systems that serve people instead of replacing them.

We explore the power of leaning into your strengths visionary and integrator and how that alignment transformed daily chaos into a consistent client experience.

Jennifer breaks down how she and John scaled from a husband-and-wife duo to a tight, high-output team with specialized roles, transaction coordinators, ISAs, and trusted partners.

Going independent wasn’t about ego; it cut friction at the table and redirected six-figure fees into smarter marketing, better signs, and real training.

The result: steady volume, fewer peaks and valleys, and clients who felt seen.

Beyond production, the ripple effect stands out. An inspector launches his own firm with their support.

A teacher leaves a second job and doubles his income. Clients become lifelong friends. Human follow-up calls, cards, remembering life moments beats any automation when trust decides the deal.

Jennifer also shares the mindset that kept her grounded: accepting that every transaction is a unicorn, and using a five-minute gratitude journal to rewire stress into clear action.

Pair that with forecasting, quarterly tax discipline, and realistic seasons of hustle, and you get a business that lasts.

If you’ve ever craved a manual for real estate, this conversation offers something better: a field-tested path.

Act before you feel ready, serve before you sell, and let gratitude sharpen your problem-solving.

Subscribe, leave a quick review to send us some Google juice, and share this with a friend who needs a nudge to take their next brave step.

🎙 Thank You for Tuning in to the R.E.A.L. Real Estate Agent Life Podcast!

We appreciate you joining us for another powerful episode where we dive deep into the world of real estate, mindset, and business growth. If you found value in this conversation, be sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your network!

👉 Never Miss an Episode!

🎧 Listen on your favorite platform:

📍 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/r-e-a-l-real-estate-agent-life-podcast/id1790088933

📍 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2LAAYbtPUqYJdTVl83hZXS?si=bf6691d7eccf4688

📍 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@R.E.A.L.RealEstateAgentLif-l6z

📲 Stay Connected & Join the Conversation!

🔹 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shane.kilby

🔹 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shanekilby/

🔹 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shanekilby/

💡 Want to be a guest on the show?...

Send a text

Real estate feels simple when the market hands you wins. But what happens when speed stops working and skill is the only edge that matters? We sit down with Phoenix leader Adam Prather—someone who turned personal urgency into a durable playbook—to unpack how to thrive across micro-markets, build a team that executes, and invest in coaching that actually changes results.

Adam takes us inside Phoenix’s “market of markets,” where an average price in the mid-400s shares space with ultra-luxury sales beyond $30M. He explains how niching down—from golf communities to short-term rental hot spots—lets you speak the client’s language and command trust. Then he rewinds to his unconventional path: banking and values-based selling, financial planning, college ministry, and a family health crisis that forced a high-stakes pivot. With licenses expired and bills due, he chose real estate and did the unglamorous things that move the needle—hired a coach he couldn’t “afford,” brought on a transaction coordinator immediately, and committed to daily prospecting across expireds, FSBOs, and door knocking.

We go deep on why elite performers stack coaches, how paying for guidance rewires your commitment, and what it looks like to lead from the front—live dials, real energy, and measurable standards. Adam breaks down the 2022 reset, owning mistakes like taking his eye off conversations and recruiting while the market shifted. He rebuilt by tracking controllables: appointments set, conversations made, and consistent follow-up. His framework for what makes a great agent now is simple and demanding: be massively adaptable, build trust and skill in tandem, and get in rooms that make you uncomfortable—pay for proximity or ask your way in.

If you want a practical blueprint for moving from hope to execution—across luxury, team building, and mindset—this one brings receipts. Subscribe, share with a friend who needs a push, and drop a five-star review so more agents find the show. What’s the first action you’ll take today?

🎙 Thank You for Tuning in to the R.E.A.L. Real Estate Agent Life Podcast!

We appreciate you joining us for another powerful episode where we dive deep into the world of real estate, mindset, and business growth. If you found value in this conversation, be sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your network!

👉 Never Miss an Episode!

🎧 Listen on your favorite platform:

📍 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/r-e-a-l-real-estate-agent-life-podcast/id1790088933

📍 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2LAAYbtPUqYJdTVl83hZXS?si=bf6691d7eccf4688

📍 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@R.E.A.L.RealEstateAgentLif-l6z

📲 Stay Connected & Join the Conversation!

🔹 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shane.kilby

🔹 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shanekilby/

🔹 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shanekilby/

💡 Want to be a guest on the show?...

Send a text

In this episode of R.E.A.L. Real Estate Agent Life, we sit down with Alex Yu, Orange County team leader and coach who’s helped guide over $400M in sales and built a reputation for systems, service, and five-star client experiences.

Alex shares the real story behind his growth — including how he went from running bank-owned assets at Chase during the REO wave to building a high-performing real estate team… and what happened when the post-COVID market exposed the difference between being good and being lucky.

If you’re building a team, recruiting agents, or trying to create consistent lead flow in a tougher market — this one will hit home.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why “I want an agent just like me” is a trap
• The core values line you must draw (accept vs. reject)
• The hidden danger of making your agents’ lives “too easy”
• Why COVID created a generation of order takers (and what to do now)
• The truth about production numbers — and what they don’t prove
• How Alex thinks about community, service, and long-term brand equity
• The “Hands / Mind / Heart” framework for leading agents
• Where Alex would start if you dropped him into a new market at zero

Connect with Alex:
Instagram: @realalexyu

Want more episodes like this?
✅ Subscribe for weekly conversations with real leaders, producers, and operators.
✅ Leave a 5-star review — it helps more agents find the show.
✅ Share this episode with an agent who needs a system (not motivation).

#RealEstate #RealEstateAgents #TeamBuilding #RealEstateCoaching #Recruiting #Leadership #RealEstatePodcast

🎙 Thank You for Tuning in to the R.E.A.L. Real Estate Agent Life Podcast!

We appreciate you joining us for another powerful episode where we dive deep into the world of real estate, mindset, and business growth. If you found value in this conversation, be sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your network!

👉 Never Miss an Episode!

🎧 Listen on your favorite platform:

📍 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/r-e-a-l-real-estate-agent-life-podcast/id1790088933

📍 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2LAAYbtPUqYJdTVl83hZXS?si=bf6691d7eccf4688

📍 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@R.E.A.L.RealEstateAgentLif-l6z

📲 Stay Connected & Join the Conversation!

🔹 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shane.kilby

🔹 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shanekilby/

🔹 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shanekilby/

💡 Want to be a guest on the show?...

Send a text

What does it look like to go from a graduating class of 30… to building a powerhouse real estate team that dominates market share?

In this episode of R.E.A.L. Real Estate Agent Life, Shane Kilby and Duane Murphy sit down with Matt Smith (Missouri team leader + John Cheplak coach) for a masterclass on work ethic, sales simplicity, leadership growth, and legacy.

Matt shares the raw backstory: working a sawmill at 12 years old, quitting the family business with no “perfect plan,” learning sales the hard way, then jumping into real estate and closing 70+ homes in his first year.

But the real value is what comes after the success how he hit leadership ceilings, lost great people, learned humility the hard way, and rebuilt his leadership identity around impact.

If you’re an agent, team leader, or future leader trying to grow without losing yourself (or your people), this one will light you up.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why “sales = solving problems” (and how to go deeper than surface pain)
• The dangerous transition from top producer → leader (and why many fail it)
• The next jump: leader → leader of leaders
• How ego and “press clippings” can quietly wreck culture
• The mindset shift from proving people wrong to impacting lives
• The leadership concept that hit everyone: don’t pour from your cup—overflow it
• Why Matt says: stop living for your resume… start living for your eulogy

🔥 Smash subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with one agent who needs a push right now.

🎙 Thank You for Tuning in to the R.E.A.L. Real Estate Agent Life Podcast!

We appreciate you joining us for another powerful episode where we dive deep into the world of real estate, mindset, and business growth. If you found value in this conversation, be sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your network!

👉 Never Miss an Episode!

🎧 Listen on your favorite platform:

📍 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/r-e-a-l-real-estate-agent-life-podcast/id1790088933

📍 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2LAAYbtPUqYJdTVl83hZXS?si=bf6691d7eccf4688

📍 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@R.E.A.L.RealEstateAgentLif-l6z

📲 Stay Connected & Join the Conversation!

🔹 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shane.kilby

🔹 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shanekilby/

🔹 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shanekilby/

💡 Want to be a guest on the show?...

Send a text

This Thanksgiving episode hits different.

No guest. No script. Just two operators Shane from Alabama and Duane from Wisconsin getting brutally honest about the year we’ve all walked through:

• Why 2024/2025 felt like a storm for so many agents
• The power of small, uncomfortable rooms that sharpen leaders
• How consistency on social quietly compounds into DMs, belief, and business
• The truth about re-recruiting your own people (yes, it matters)
• Why AI is your half-million-dollar assistant, not your replacement
• Our bold prediction for the 2026 market
• And of course… drunken Green Egg turkey vs. deer-camp ribeyes 😅

If you’re leading people… or trying to lead yourself… this is the Thanksgiving reset you didn’t know you needed.

This episode reminds you:

You’re not alone.

You’ve survived 100% of your hardest days.

And 2026 belongs to the agents who run into the storm like bison not the ones who huddle like cattle.

🎙 Thank You for Tuning in to the R.E.A.L. Real Estate Agent Life Podcast!

We appreciate you joining us for another powerful episode where we dive deep into the world of real estate, mindset, and business growth. If you found value in this conversation, be sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your network!

👉 Never Miss an Episode!

🎧 Listen on your favorite platform:

📍 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/r-e-a-l-real-estate-agent-life-podcast/id1790088933

📍 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2LAAYbtPUqYJdTVl83hZXS?si=bf6691d7eccf4688

📍 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@R.E.A.L.RealEstateAgentLif-l6z

📲 Stay Connected & Join the Conversation!

🔹 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shane.kilby

🔹 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shanekilby/

🔹 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shanekilby/

💡 Want to be a guest on the show?...

Send a text

Today’s episode features one of the most dynamic leaders in real estate, Tony Hanson of Better Homes & Gardens Paracle.

Tony doesn’t just talk success he lives discipline, systems, and execution at a level most agents never experience. From surviving the 2008 crash while carrying $60M in development loans to helping scale Paracle from 26 agents to over 400 strong, Tony’s journey is packed with life lessons, business fundamentals, and mindset breakthroughs.

Inside this episode:

🔥 The Catapult Program:
How Tony trains brand-new agents into professionals who understand the A–Z of real estate, belief systems, process, and discipline.

🔥 Three Days in One:
Tony's legendary routine for maximizing productivity, family, fitness, and business without sacrificing one for the other.

🔥 Words Matter:
The psychology of language in sales and why most agents stall deals without even realizing it.

🔥 Building Financial Walls:
The $60M mistake that turned into Tony’s greatest teacher and how it reshaped his entire outlook on business security and diversification.

🔥 Leadership Under Pressure:
What it means to charge into the storm like a rhino when fear, chaos, and uncertainty hit.

🔥 Legacy:
What Tony wants to be remembered for and why it has nothing to do with money or status.

This episode is packed with laughs, conviction, tactical strategies, and gut-check moments. Whether you're a brand-new agent or a seasoned leader, you will walk away with pages of notes and a fire in your chest.

🎙 Thank You for Tuning in to the R.E.A.L. Real Estate Agent Life Podcast!

We appreciate you joining us for another powerful episode where we dive deep into the world of real estate, mindset, and business growth. If you found value in this conversation, be sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your network!

👉 Never Miss an Episode!

🎧 Listen on your favorite platform:

📍 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/r-e-a-l-real-estate-agent-life-podcast/id1790088933

📍 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2LAAYbtPUqYJdTVl83hZXS?si=bf6691d7eccf4688

📍 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@R.E.A.L.RealEstateAgentLif-l6z

📲 Stay Connected & Join the Conversation!

🔹 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shane.kilby

🔹 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shanekilby/

🔹 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shanekilby/

💡 Want to be a guest on the show?...