Five months of no.
Then a career of yes.

01 · Where I started

Raised around real estate

I grew up in Murrieta, California, in a family that lived and breathed real estate. That came with an unspoken expectation: I was supposed to be the best at it. No pressure, right? Wrong.

Long before I ever made a sales call, I was on a stage. I performed in youth theater shows growing up, and later at Biola I played Frank Churchill in Emma and acted in Macbeth. Theater taught me how to connect with a room, and church taught me why it matters. I gave my life to Jesus when I was four, and faith has shaped everything since.

At Linfield Christian High School I was a campus ambassador, giving tours to families deciding whether the school was right for their kids. Looking back, that was my first recruiting job. I just didn't know it yet.

“I am expected to be the best because of my parents' business. No pressure, right? Wrong.”

02 · Early career

Intern, student, explorer

In January 2018 I traveled to Guangzhou, China, on a cultural exchange, visiting campuses to help Chinese parents understand American education. I had to adapt to a new culture and a new language fast, and I learned that people decide with their hearts before their heads.

In the summer of 2020 I joined Century 21 Masters as a real estate intern. I built a mailing campaign for a broker's database and grew their presence on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook. That fall, in the middle of the pandemic, I worked as a guest advocate at Target, doing online shopping for customers who couldn't come into the store.

At Biola University I studied business marketing. In my senior year I built a nonprofit marketing plan for Come To Him Ministries, a homeless shelter in La Mirada. My professor told me it was on another level from my usual work. I graduated in 2023 with a B.B.A. in Marketing, on the Dean's List.

03 · The challenge

Five months of no

After graduation I went all-in on recruiting at Century 21 Masters, and I was terrible at it. I had no idea how to recruit. It took five months before a single agent said yes.

My boss at the time saw a failure. Honestly, I hadn't brought anyone into the company, so I understood why. But I refused to accept that perspective. My perspective was that I would eventually win.

That whole first year I was stressed, worried that I just wasn't a great salesperson. Then one day it clicked: I didn't have to be someone else. I could win by being genuine and doing it my way.

“Perspective matters. My boss's perspective was that I was a failure. My perspective was that I will eventually win.”

04 · Turning point

Coachable, then unstoppable

Everything changed when I started working with a coach. She told me I had the personality for recruiting, and that I needed to give myself credit for the agents who signed on, because they never would have sat down with our leadership without my phone call. She also told me I was coachable. I decided to prove her right.

I made the calls other people avoided. I asked better questions. I learned to represent my company as well as I possibly could, never give up, and know that my identity doesn't depend on whether one person signs on. That freedom made me better at the job.

05 · Major accomplishments

Growing a company, market by market

In 2024 our leadership asked me to start targeting San Diego. Within weeks we had sat down with agents representing $50 million in production. On the drive home, one of our leaders told me, "You're extremely great at targeting top hitters and delivering."

In September 2025 I recruited two loan officers and three producing agents to our Central Coast offices in a single month. Those were the first producing agents to sign on there in years.

My favorite compliment didn't come from my company at all. It came when the owner of a competing brokerage asked my mom to tell me to stop recruiting her agents.

“You're extremely great at targeting top hitters and delivering.”

06 · Leadership

From recruiter to builder of recruiters

Today I'm the Director of Recruiting at Century 21 Masters, recruiting both real estate agents and loan officers. My job isn't just to recruit anymore. It's to build recruiters.

I sit beside new recruiters on their calls, teach them scripts, and celebrate their wins like they're my own. One recruiter walked in on her first day knowing nothing about recruiting or sales, and within two days she was up and running.

I've learned that to build a great team, I have to hire good people who want to excel, not just people who are good.

“He doesn't just teach people how to recruit; he builds people up.”

07 · Lessons learned

What recruiting taught me

Drop the ego. It is not your amigo.

If you want to be better than the rest, you have to be willing to do what the rest won't. Usually that means picking up the phone.

Everyone sells. They're just selling something different. The best recruiters don't sell a desk or a commission split; they sell a vision of who someone could become.

And people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.

08 · Why I wrote the book

The playbook I never had

I originally wrote this book because when I started my job at Century 21, I had no idea how to recruit. I had to learn everything the hard way: the questions, the objections, the commission conversations, the bosses, and when to build a team of my own.

Cracks In The Armor is the book I wish someone had handed me on day one. I dedicated it to my mom and dad, who inspired me to be a better man and to chase after God, and to the coach who changed my life by believing in me.

“Everything that you believe in is because you were sold something.”

09 · Today

Recruiting, leading, writing, serving

Today I lead recruiting at Century 21 Masters, coach my team, and I'm finishing Cracks In The Armor. Outside of work I serve as a youth small-group leader at my church and speak at youth and young-adult gatherings, the same rooms where my own faith grew up.

10 · What's next

More rooms, more people, more yeses

Next, I'm launching Cracks In The Armor and taking its message to brokerages, sales teams, and leaders who want to inspire people, not just manage them.

My goal hasn't changed since that first year: help people see a bigger future for themselves, and then help them grow into it.