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GETTING TO KNOW ME

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Education & Training with Performance Development Strategies

Carol Williams and Kathy Streib have invited us to answer 21 questions below to tell about ourselves. After some thought here are my answers.

 

1. What was your first job and what did you learn from it?

My first job other than newspaper carrier was as a janitor (sexton) for the church we attended. The sexton just quit because of construction going on. I grabbed it and learned the floor machine. Later, while still in high school I put an ad in the paper and got a job after school doing floors in an office building.

2. How long have you been in the real estate or related service industry?

Working with agents started when Keller Williams agents offered to have me sponsor their training breakfast and talk about my service. That was in 2009.

3. What is your biggest fear and what have you done to try to conquer it?

I would say I have none in business. However, I do have fear of working at heights like sloping roofs way up high.

4. What would you do if you knew you would not fail?

That is an interesting question. Earlier, I would have invested in a food (restaurant) franchise and developed it to large numbers of units.

5. What is a habit you would love to eliminate or change?

I guess it would be paring down and get prioritized. I want to do too much.

6. What is your favorite meal (forget about calories or what you shouldn’t eat)

It is definitely many types of pasta dishes and even making the pasta myself. Currently I am on Keto but I really do miss that pasta.

7. What is something you wish you’d done?

Nothing really. I think I have tried the things I wanted most.

8. Who has been most influential in your life?

I would say both of my parents. My father influenced my leadership desires.

9. What are your favorite business-related books?

Good to Great by Jim Collins, To sell is Human by Dan Pink, One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard.

10. Other than business books what are your favorite things to read?

I love to read about history. Leadership in Turbulent Times by Doris Kearns Goodwin (on leadership relating to Lincoln, Theordore Roosevelt, FDR, and LBJ) John Adams by David McCullough

 

11. What are your top 5 favorite movies?

The Godfather, Patton, It's a Wonderful Life, Sound of Music, Gone with the Wind

12. If I came to visit your city for one day what is the one thing I must do or see?

You must see the mountains along the Hudson, the many waterways and reservoirs and seeing we live at the crossroads of New York City.

13. If I came to your city to visit for one day what is the one restaurant you would recommend?

I would take you to The Modern Barn. It has a culinary excellence from NYC here in Armonk.

14. If I was going to relocate to your area what advice would you give me that is unique to the area?

Armonk has a great school system. If you are not familiar with Westchester and NYS our major portion of taxes are for schools. There are other fine school districts in Westchester, however, we have great company headquarters here like IBM, and Swiss Re that make our tax base much more manageable.

15. Do you have any special talents?

I don't know if this is special but I am a great organizer and leader of events. Sometimes I do more than I should.

16 Do you have any quirks?

Well some people tell me I am stubborn. Sometimes that is good but I am working on when it is bad.

17. What is your best character trait?

I have been told that I am positive and enthusiastic. Once I was on a call for networking at 7am and the leaders asked where I get all my enthusiasm so early in the morning.

18. Have you ever done anything you would never do again because it was too hard or too dangerous?

When I look back at my younger years things look dangerous now. I wasn't a dare devil but I certainly drove very fast in a car that wasn't very safe by today's standards.

19. What is your favorite thing to do in your spare time?

I love going out to dinner with family and friends. I also love entertaining at our home. And always want to do things with our grandson.

20. If you could live anywhere in the world where would you want to live?

Anywhere along the coast but not isolated like on an island because I have wanderlust. I guess that is why I love Armonk NY and Port Saint Lucie Florida. I would not want to choose one over the other.

21. What is something that we don’t know about you that would surprise us?

When I was the personnel manager of Sears I ended up dating my personnel assistant. And...

We have been married for 44 years.

 

 

Posted by


PDStrategies.net

Armonk, NY
Port Saint Lucie, FL

(914) 953-4458
CALL OR TEXT

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Grant Schneider,
CBC, SPHR, SHRM-SCP*

*Certified Business Coach,
Senior Professional in Human Resources

President, Founder
& Leadership Coach

About Me

 

Comments(23)

Nina Hollander, Broker
Coldwell Banker Realty - Charlotte, NC
Your Greater Charlotte Realtor

Good morning, Grant... I'm with you on the pasta! If I ever had to choose a "final" meal, it would have to include pasta. Loved the pictures of you and Phyllis. And I'm guessing one is in Armonk and the other in Port St Lucie... your two favorite places. Very clever.

May 11, 2022 05:04 AM
Wayne Martin
Wayne M Martin - Chicago, IL
Real Estate Broker - Retired

Good morning Grant. We do have something in common. The wife and I have been married for 44 years. Interesting life you have led! Enjoy your day.

May 11, 2022 05:16 AM
Brian England
Ambrose Realty Management LLC - Gilbert, AZ
MBA, GRI, REALTOR® Real Estate in East Valley AZ

I really enjoyed getting to know more about you!  I definitely have to try to visit Armonk someday, it sounds like such a wonderful place.

May 11, 2022 06:13 AM
Roy Kelley
Retired - Gaithersburg, MD

I enjoyed reading your May Challenge answers.

Have a great day and a very productive month.

May 11, 2022 07:02 AM
Leanne Smith
Dirt Road Real Estate - Golden Valley, AZ
The Grit and Gratitude Agent

Best answer was the last question - Congratulations on a long and happy marriage. Take care, Grant

May 11, 2022 07:35 AM
Joan Cox
House to Home, Inc. - Denver Real Estate - 720-231-6373 - Denver, CO
Denver Real Estate - Selling One Home at a Time

Grant, great post, and loved reading more about you, and such a lovely picture of you and your wife!  

May 11, 2022 07:47 AM
Grant Schneider
Performance Development Strategies - Armonk, NY
Your Coach Helping You Create Successful Outcomes

Hi Aura - I like strong willed, yes.  Kearns Goodwin has wonderful history like Team of Rivals.  So many good leadership take aways.

Endre - or as they said about my grandfather, Stubborn Deutschmann.

Kat - and I have to say that I live vicariously through your travels.

Nina - yes, you guessed both pictures correctly!

Wayne - isn't that nice and we both have grandsons that have us wrapped around their finger.

Brian - I would love to have you.

 

May 11, 2022 09:55 AM
Carol Williams
Although I'm retired, I love sharing my knowledge and learning from other real estate industry professionals. - Wenatchee, WA
Retired Agent / Broker / Prop. Mgr, Wenatchee, WA

Hi Grant,
I was glad to learn more about you but I can't that any of it surprised me.  You stubborn? No! Strong-willed (as Aura Alex suggested), persistent, determined. Yes!  And, congratulations on 44 years of marriage! I'm so glad I got to meet you and Phyllis last Fall.

May 11, 2022 10:39 AM
Grant Schneider
Performance Development Strategies - Armonk, NY
Your Coach Helping You Create Successful Outcomes

Roy - glad that you read them.  Have a nice day.

Leanne - we have had a great marriage because we compliment each other.

Carol - thank you.  And Phyllis and I are both so happy that we met you.

May 11, 2022 10:51 AM
George Souto
George Souto NMLS #65149 FHA, CHFA, VA Mortgages - Middletown, CT
Your Connecticut Mortgage Expert

Grant did you have to give Phyllis a raise in order for her to agree to going out with you???  🤣

May 11, 2022 01:38 PM
Anna "Banana" Kruchten
HomeSmart Real Estate - Phoenix, AZ
602-380-4886

Hi Grant love the story of you meeting Phyllis while working at Sears!  Congratulations on 44 years together!   And I'm laughing about George Souto question?  Did you?!!  You've always seemed like an upbeat, enthusiastic guy to me as well as one with a great head on his shoulders - with a great sense of humor!

May 11, 2022 02:30 PM
Kathy Streib
Cypress, TX
Home Stager/Redesign

Hi Grant- thank you so much for sharing your information with us. I am forever grateful that I had the opportunity to meet you and Phyliss.  I'm with you on eating pasta...I could eat it every night but I would double my weight!  

May 11, 2022 07:35 PM
Jeff Dowler, CRS
eXp Realty of California, Inc. - Carlsbad, CA
The Southern California Relocation Dude

Great read, Grant, and I particularly liked how the post ended!

It was so nice to have met you both in person in Boston a few years ago!

Jeff

May 11, 2022 10:16 PM
Grant Schneider
Performance Development Strategies - Armonk, NY
Your Coach Helping You Create Successful Outcomes

George - that certainly is a fair question.  No.  I knew the ramifications of this so I had to be sure and I later told my boss.

Anna -  we kept it quiet for about 2 month but we knew we were for each other so I went to the boss and told him and offered to be transferred.

Kathy -  Pasta has been so much of my cooking.  However, I have learned to good very good Keto.  I have lost 20 pounds and Phyllis has lost a good amount too.  Also, ready to do it in moderation.

Jeff - it was great to have met you too.   I knew that last question would be interesting to reveal.

May 12, 2022 03:25 AM
Sheri Sperry - MCNE®
Coldwell Banker Realty - Sedona, AZ
(928) 274-7355 ~ YOUR Solutions REALTOR®

Hi Grant Schneider - I like Aura Alex's interpretation of stubbornness.  I am sure your trait is more along the line of "strong-willed". The "Godfather" is on my top movies list.  Right now Paramount +  has a limited series called the "Offer" which shows how the movie almost wasn't made. 

BTW, that top picture of you and Phyllis is fabulous.  Congratulations on 44 years.

May 12, 2022 08:55 AM
Roy Kelley
Retired - Gaithersburg, MD

Good Friday morning, Grant.

Have a great day and an outstanding weekend.

May 13, 2022 05:27 AM
Joan Cox
House to Home, Inc. - Denver Real Estate - 720-231-6373 - Denver, CO
Denver Real Estate - Selling One Home at a Time

Grant, I can't even imagine being married to ONE person for 44 years!  Congrats!   

May 13, 2022 07:59 AM
Grant Schneider
Performance Development Strategies - Armonk, NY
Your Coach Helping You Create Successful Outcomes

Sheri - thanks for the compliments and I will also have to check out Paramount +.

Roy - you too. have a wonderful weekend.

Joan - we worked it and now we are totally devoted to each other.

May 13, 2022 05:29 PM
Lawrence "Larry" & Sheila Agranoff. Cell: 631-805-4400
The Top Team @ Charles Rutenberg Realty 255 Executive Dr, Plainview NY 11803 - Plainview, NY
Long Island Condo and Home Specialists

It was fun learning more about you Grant, and how you met your wife. The photos you were included show that you both made the right choice! 

May 15, 2022 07:16 AM
Hannah Williams
HomeStarr Realty - Philadelphia, PA
Expertise NE Philadelphia & Bucks 215-820-3376

Grant Schneider Never knew your wife was your personal assistant and well anyone can see you were made for each other 😎

May 24, 2022 05:52 PM