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The entrepreneur DNA.
Interviewer/Host
Welcome back. Obviously you are seeing I'm with a very special guest here. He is not just a TV star, he is a Netflix star. He is a best selling author. He's a tech CEO. He's a top broker, he's an investor, an entrepreneur, a father, a husband. Just an overall great guy. Ryan Serhit is here.
Ryan Serhant
Thanks for having me.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah, I'm excited to have this. This is going to be a good one. Yeah.
Ryan Serhant
Welcome to my office that's it.
Interviewer/Host
This is an incredible office. So if you ever get the chance, we're here in New York in his office. Phenomenal. This place is unreal. Your nines all the way through and through. I want to ask you the first thing first. I just gave you a resume. How do you get all this done?
Ryan Serhant
People power and people power in numbers. Scale. One of the first things I learned when I got into the real estate business in 2008, when I looked around at everybody else that I was competing with and I saw that there was this real nobility and being able to do everything by yourself, right? So, like that, that was a thing, you know, like I, I hit the ball by myself, I did the work by myself. It's like I think there might be another way, especially in the service business, which is hard because everyone wants you, right? It's you, you, you, you. How do you scale you? If you know how to train and you know how to teach, Right. Like if you look at any great manager, some managers show, some managers tell the best ones, teach, learn how to teach. Then you can start to create different branches to, you know, your oak tree. Yeah. And so I've just always really focused on the fat that I can hire people to do everything but hire people. And so I just spent a lot of time finding and looking for great people and they help me do all of that stuff.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah. I mean, even if you just consider some of the, the things people know you for, you are a content creator. You are top of the spear of the content creating world. In my opinion, that is not easy. You're a best selling authority. You are on million dollar Listing, New York. You have owning Manhattan Season 2 coming out now, December 5th, season 2. Owning Manhattan, like just that alone in anyone else's world is a full time job, right. To be able to keep up with that. So take that and then you actually still do the thing that you're known for.
Ryan Serhant
You have to.
Interviewer/Host
And that is, that is something that I give you as someone. I've been in the real estate space for 20 years. I give you all the credit because there's so many people now that are trying to become branded like a sirhant, but they stop doing the thing. And that's a tricky spot.
Ryan Serhant
Yeah, yeah. I think the audience and the community that we build now really, really sees through bullshit and they really understand authenticity. Like, they just get it, you know, like you, you know, when things are produced, you know, when people are full of it, you just get it. That's why swipe time now is so fast.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Ryan Serhant
Know, like fake, fake, fake, fake. Authentic.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Ryan Serhant
And we all pause on authentic moments. It's why even in the age of AI, we just all get locked out. Reality TV is the biggest right now across streamers and cable. Because even if moments are put together and produce and hey, go stand over here. There's more authenticity there than in someone paying to make content to put it in front of you to please like it. So we could sell ads. No one cares anymore.
Interviewer/Host
Right.
Ryan Serhant
And so I still have to do the thing. And I also, I think it's important to make sure that I. I never lose touch with every single part of the business and what makes it run. And there's credibility in the fact that I'm gonna teach people how to sell. I need to actually be selling. I don't want to be your coach.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Ryan Serhant
And I, I never, I was able to listen to people or learn from people who were like, well, I've never done this personally, but, you know, it's like a personal trainer who's out of shape. They might be book smart. You talk about that. Right. But they might be book smart. But I'm like, if you. You got to be able to walk the walk and talk the talk at least once to say, this is how you did it.
Interviewer/Host
Right, Right.
Ryan Serhant
And then goes to that process.
Interviewer/Host
I just a fun story. I was just in the gym this morning. I do a morning routine. I want to get to your morning routine. But I go to the gym very early because I'm also a father and I run companies and I need fine time. This older guy, huge beer belly. Maybe one day he was in shape somewhere, but not anymore. Is talking to this shredded, ripped. We're in the sauna. This Guy has an eight pack. He's like 25 years old at most. Like, just shredded. Yeah. He says, hey, weren't you that guy running up and down the street on whatever street for like an hour and a half doing wind sprints? And the kid's like, yeah, that's my Sunday routine to keep my body in motion.
Ryan Serhant
Yeah.
Interviewer/Host
The older gentleman decides to go on a 30 minute. And I was only in the sauna for 15. I would, I left, and he was still going rant on, teaching him what he. What would make him better. Yeah. And I was looking at this guy with a huge beer belly trying to give the guy that has an eight pack advice on how to be more athletic and stronger and more fit, whatever.
Ryan Serhant
Flesh flow, I guess.
Interviewer/Host
And you go, what the Is that? So anyways, so let's Talk about a morning routine. Because I think again, father, business owner, you got a million people needing you, wanting you. You're leveraged. What does a morning routine look like for Ryan Saran?
Ryan Serhant
Well, say, look, when I was younger, like, definitely when I first moved to New York City, I was not used to the pace of the city because the city moves incredibly quickly. It will provide you all the fuel you need to power the fastest car. Or it'll provide you all the gas you need to burn your fucking house down. Right. Shant Gray, Eat it up.
Capella University Announcer
Yeah.
Ryan Serhant
Okay. And you get to choose there. You get to choose. Go fast. You get to choose breakdown lane. I am dying. I'm depressed, I have to move home.
Interviewer/Host
I'm using this, by the way.
Ryan Serhant
The city. The city is both.
Interviewer/Host
Okay.
Ryan Serhant
Yeah. And so when I first got here, I was like, man, like 9am is a good, like since early. But you know, that's morning. I would go to the gym at night. My gym on the Upper east side, when I first moved here would close at 10. I get there about like 8:30pm yeah. Because the thought of doing anything before 8:00am, which is like, you'd have to. I would have to be forced. Yeah. And then I get a job and responsibility. And then I started to learn the value of minutes and time and I started to build out like my thousand minute rule of. Because I. I control what I can control. I can only control my time. Yeah. And so how do I control what only I can control? If I can't control the weather, I can't control markets. I can't control a grandmother who's going to lie to my face to save $5. I can't control him. I can't control you. I can control my time. And so let me maximize my lifespan with the amount of time that I have. And so I flipped it and I did the inverse. And so my meditation, like my church is plus, minus 5 to 8am Roughly, definitely 5 to 7, depending on the day. Or 5 to 8. I wake up at 4:36 days a week. I like wake myself up, I read, I look at email, I look at the news specifically see what happened overnight, kind of catch up. And I start firing off messages. It's what I've done for like 17 years is important to me. Everyone, they're all saying yes is important to me. To let everybody know that I won and I beat you. It's a small joy in my life to let everyone know that by the time they wake up, they're looking down, they're like oh, he's had a two hour head start.
Interviewer/Host
You literally sometimes say I win.
Ryan Serhant
No, I've never actually said that. It gets implied.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah, with my emojis.
Ryan Serhant
But I also have, listen, I also have clients all over the world so like especially in Europe, especially in the uk, they're five, six, seven hours ahead of us already.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Ryan Serhant
So like I just, have I gotten the cadence when I was much younger to just move that fast. So only now are people like dude, with the iOS update you can use said later. And like that's for pussies, you know, like that's an extra step for me.
Interviewer/Host
100%. That's right.
Ryan Serhant
I get it. Work life balance. Questionable that you could post this. So I do all that stuff up until 5:30 depending on the day, I'll go to a big gym that's by my house and I'll work out again. If I'm in New York, like a standard day, work out there from like 5:37, I come home, shower, CYFC baby for a hot second, get in the car, go to work and then I'm 15 minutes on the mark for the most part. This is four 15 minute blocks. Yeah, one to two. Other than that we keep things pretty tight.
Interviewer/Host
In your dial to go.
Ryan Serhant
Yeah, dials.
Interviewer/Host
So the question you brought up was this balance. So I wanted to go off on this because I think everyone that wants to be Ryan Serhant doesn't know how to even get to become Ryan's Orient without they believe I have a strong opinion. I don't believe there's balance. You have one life and you're all in on family and you're all in on work and it's one life. There is no like family life, work balance. In my opinion. Do I want to spend time with my kids and my wife? 100%. But when I'm there then I'm all in on them.
Ryan Serhant
Yeah.
Interviewer/Host
When I'm here in office, let's say then I'm all in on this. How do you view this work life balance? Because you have a million things, far more than most people watching this and hearing this. How do you do this work life balance?
Ryan Serhant
Pretty simply I am very goal oriented. I definitely can't be with anybody who is all sympathetic who like just wants to go with the wind. Maybe that'll be in my second life. I do think about those people and I, I envy them. From what you did, I know where I want to get to this year. I know what the chapter in my book for 2025 is going to be and I know that there's going to be twists and turns and there's going to be good, good stories and then some bad stories, because that's what makes a book interesting. No, I also read a book that's like. And then everything was awesome.
Interviewer/Host
No one watched all the time.
Ryan Serhant
No one watches that Netflix show for sure. You know, they want to watch where everything burns. But he came out a bit alive. And so I plot the goals, and the goals are personal and professional.
Personal is Ryan and then family. Right. Professional is CEO and then company. So I have four quadrants. What are those goals for the year? And I march towards those goals.
Interviewer/Host
Do you physically write them?
Ryan Serhant
Oh, for sure. And I keep everything in focus at all times. That way when everyone brings me different issues, those issues are not a focus and the focus will not be that issue. And then I get to just move forward that way and like, that way I can plot out and then obviously things happen and things change and things move around and that's okay. But like, I wanted to make sure last year that I spent more time with my grandmother this year, who lives in Mequon, Wisconsin, which is nowhere near me because she's turning 100. And so she did turn 100. And I was just in Milwaukee and they can hurt, dude. I think there's hurricanes in the Midwest everywhere now, dude. It's insane.
Interviewer/Host
God is saying, you guys fuck this world up, dude.
Ryan Serhant
I might as well. It's been in Miami. Milwaukee was underwater. Could barely get back to the airport. But I saw Nana was on my goals. But I also wanted to.
To make sure that that happened so that I can then follow the follow the plan.
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Capella University Announcer
Is it time to reimagine your future? The right business skills may make a difference in your career. At Capella University, we offer a relevant education that's designed to focus on what you need to know in the business world. We'll teach professional skills to help you pursue your goals like business management, strategic planning and effective communication. And you can apply these skills right away. A different future is closer than you think with Capella University. Learn more@capella.edu.
GoFundMe/Grainger Announcer
If you're the purchasing manager at a manufacturing plant, you know having a trusted partner makes all the difference. That's why, hands down, you count on Grainger for auto reordering. With on time restocks, your team will have the cut resistant gloves they need at the start of their shift and you can end your day knowing they've got safety well in hand. Call 1-800-GRAINGER click granger.com or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it done.
Indeed Announcer
Hiring isn't just about finding someone willing to take the job. You need the right person with the right background who can move your business forward. If you want candidates who truly match what you're looking for, trust Indeed Sponsored Jobs. With Indeed Sponsored Jobs, your post stands out to quality candidates who actually fit the role. According To Indeed data, 90% are more likely to be hired and trusted by 1.6 million companies. Spend more time interviewing candidates who check all your boxes. Less stress, less time, more results. Now with Indeed Sponsored Jobs and listeners of this show will get a $70 sponsored job credit to help your job get the premium status it deserves@ Indeed.com podcast13 just go to Indeed.com podcast13 right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Indeed.com podcast 13 terms and conditions apply. Hiring do it the right way with Indeed.
Interviewer/Host
So much to unpack because I just did the same thing with my wife. My grandfather's 946 now, right. And I'm like I need to get my happy ass all the way to California and just sit with a 96 year old.
Ryan Serhant
Yeah.
Interviewer/Host
And just talk. Cuz they talk and just. Yeah, and it's just like peaceful. You just sit there and go oh, all my stresses. I'm just here with a 96 year old. So hopefully you found the same thing.
Ryan Serhant
It's nuts. Like I everyone I know over the age of 70, if you ask that like what's the way every time man, if you ask them what's the one thing that they would change? For the most part it's have more kids.
Interviewer/Host
Right?
Ryan Serhant
For the most part.
Interviewer/Host
Really? What you had to say what? That's what you had to say right now.
Ryan Serhant
Sorry.
Interviewer/Host
We have two. Yeah.
Ryan Serhant
For the most part it's having more kids because it's like, like I said, I talked to a CEO, you know, we sold his house for a billion dollars and I always ask him like what's one piece of advice you have for Me, between now and the time I get to your age, you know, old man, he's like, have more kids. He has five. Like, dude, really? And he's like, yeah, but I don't regret a single one of them.
Interviewer/Host
Right, right.
Ryan Serhant
And the pain that I had with raising them, whether it's financially for sure, because raising kids these days is obscenely expensive. Okay? What. Whether it's the pressure on your time or everything, we're all going to hit an age. If you're lucky. All that stuff is meaningless. All those people are gone. The stress is gone, the work is gone, the stuff is gone. You're going to be old. Your back's going to hur to sit there. All you're going to have is your kids. And I'm sitting there at my grandmother's birthday and it like, it affected me three weeks ago or whatever that was. And she's 100 years old and she has five kids and they're all there, one of which is my mom and all the grandkids. She doesn't know who anybody is. And then she falls asleep and she wakes up and she's like, I know who all of you are. It was kind of fun. I was like, which grandmother we're going to get right now? She's 100. And it's like, wow, man. And nothing that happened to her when she was 40 years old, that was really stressful. That day at work, at her job means anything in that moment. So my really long answer to your question about work, life, balance and everything else is, dude, yes, it's goal oriented, but I put in the work every day for future me. Like, that is. That's my job. That's who I work for is me at 75, who's somewhere in the future. Old Buck who really wishes that I wasn't doing snatches. Okay. At the gym at my age, because now his shoulders.
Interviewer/Host
I hurry. Your shoulders? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Ryan Serhant
You know, and he's sitting there, but I hope he's happy and surrounded by people and not sitting there alone at some desk saying, yeah, but look. Right? I think the yab. But look.
Fear of embarrassment is 100. An epidemic that we have to fix. And now I'm going on a tangent and I'm gonna stop.
Interviewer/Host
So I have. I.
I have a concept that I really hold near and dear to my heart. But I want to get your perspective of this. It has to do with the balance. But, like, I love my children, my wife, more than anything, and there are times.
Ryan Serhant
Yeah, that's okay.
Interviewer/Host
Right now, like, more Than anything.
Ryan Serhant
She's right there.
Interviewer/Host
I, But I will tell you, I'm not built to be a dad the same way she is a mom for sure. I literally have been judged because I've come out on my social medias and basically said, listen, I love them but if I can rock an hour or two and give them all hour two, I got, yeah, I'm gonna have a great day. And if, if that was, that's perfect for me.
Ryan Serhant
Yeah. Because we do battle. Yeah.
Interviewer/Host
We have to go fight dragons all day long. And I can't do more. I'm not built to do more. Do you agree? Disagree. What's your thoughts on all that?
Ryan Serhant
My wife first introduced me, she's from Athens and she introduced me to her dad and she had always called him Leo. And he introduces himself as Leonidas. I was like.
Dude, you came. Leonidas is my potential father in law. He doesn't fight anybody. Now I'm like, man, yeah, we had to go out, we have to hunt and gather. And I think it's in the DNA. I think, listen, there's a little bit of like nature nurture as well.
Interviewer/Host
Right.
Ryan Serhant
And you do become who you were raised by. And so we probably had similar upbringings. Like all I remember is my dad waking up at 5am Having a banana. Like going to work, traveling around the world two weeks out of every single month. Us being with my mom, him coming back. We had to do school reports every single day. We had to do chores and everything on the weekends all the way through college if he was going to pay for it. And work is worthy the value of a dollar because they went through the Great Depression. You know, his mom died when he was 16. He had his first kid when he was 19. Like just a different world to live in. You know, his dad had polio and the wars and all that stuff. And so like we're raised by that. And so when we get out of school it's like, oh, shotgun, time to go and freaking go do the things. And then to not do that is really, really just, I don't know, genetically uncomfortable. But then there's also the, the, the nurture part of it which is learning to adapt with a changing, a changing world and making sure we are there more than the 47 minutes that I think I read today that said that's all you need to be there for your spouse, for them to still love you. Yeah, shut up. Yeah, I forwarded that, I forwarded that risk. Yeah.
He's like, listen, it is science.
Yeah, science. I think her Response was, when was the last time you talked to me for 47 minutes? And I was like, undo, send undo said undo sense. Understand it. It backfired.
Too.
Interviewer/Host
Good. Well, so let's go into a little bit about challenges. We talked a little bit about it. But when you are faced with like, something goes wrong, a deal blows up in front of your face. I mean, this literally is a little raw for me because yesterday I had just a seven figure.
Ryan Serhant
Oh, dude. Every day, every day.
Interviewer/Host
How do you handle it? How do you compose? How do you handle, how do you deal with it? How do you just like.
What does that look like for you?
Ryan Serhant
Well, at the beginning of my career, it could not. And I think the reason there's such churn in sales is that we are conditioned to become most improved players and most valuable players. And we all get good enough grades to get out of elementary school and we're all told that we're going to be great and we're beautiful little pumpkins and everyone gets a trophy, right? And I'm not the only person to say everyone says that. And so then you get into a success based economy, that's a merit based economy. You're like, oh, wait a minute, I can't get there unless I, I do stuff.
And then what happens if the stuff doesn't work out? But my brain already moved up there. And then we have a mental happiness, detachment.
That for me was really hard, especially moving to New York City to try to be an actor, because that's what I came here to do. And so I had two years, which is not a long period at all, where I was rejected to my face because of my face, you know, and dude, I went great when I was 16, man. Like, I, I, you know, and I realized very quickly that I was not as great an actor as the people in New York City that were incredible, you know, and tons and tons of rejection every day. And so you build up a thick skin. And then I got into real estate and I saw that in this business, people don't like the rejection. They don't like not being paid, they don't like not having benefits, they don't like not having their weekends. And so they quit. That's why it's like 90% of the people that get into this business are out of the business in the first couple years. It's just, it's just, this is hard. It's terrible. Like, I wouldn't, I wouldn't recommend it to most people, but for those that can make it through, it's endurance. For the win. And what I taught myself is two things. One is. One is mindset. One's tactical. So mindset for how to get over loss is flipping it to understand that my job is to lose. If I think my job is to win every deal or to win most deals, then I'll be devastated when I don't. Because in my brain, oh, that was my job. And his deal went through. He made money. So if I make it that my job is to lose, my job is to pitch and not get it, then, okay, I did my job today. Every win then becomes a bonus. And that really, really, really helped me. Whether it's employees quitting or team members leaving or deals not going through everything now, it's just. That's the job. It is. Literally what I'm here to do is to try so hard that things don't work out so much so that enough really does. So that's mindset. Tactically. I started doing a thing a while ago where anytime something really bad happens, I lose a deal. Someone does something to me. I go on my phone and I go into my calendar, And I go, 30 days from today, right? So whatever day today is, I'll go 30 days out, and I'll just say, read me. And I just unload. I'm like this. You know, this deal died. I hate it. I hate this. I hate this person. He sucks. And I just. I just unload everything I feel. And then. And then I have to go to my next appointment, right? I move on. And then 30 days later, I look at my calendar, and it's that day. And I see a readme. And I'm like, no. And I open it. I'm like, well, God. Oh, I fixed it. Oh, I don't care anymore. Cause I did 10 more deals since then. Oh, yeah, that deal was never gonna go. It's totally fine. Because time heals all wounds. And now I don't care. And so what happens when you do that? The more you do it, the muscle memory you build from just typing the note is a. Is a little bit of a spiritual guidance to your heart. Because you now know in 30 days, I'm not going to care. So future me is going to show up today, not 30 days from now. And right now, I already don't care as much because my job is to lose. And I know what's coming anyway. Yeah, right. It's like when you go through a breakup and you're like, I'll never date anyone. My life will be over. And the next day you meet someone you're like, dude, she is.
Interviewer/Host
Wow.
Ryan Serhant
Imagine if I was still with that person. So, like, it's just keeping that thing going and that's how I get through it.
Lowe's Announcer
That's.
Interviewer/Host
I mean, that's. I'm gonna adopt that. Dude. Thank you for that. That was great. Because it is that like you. Like yesterday I wanted to go and I was flying here and I want to spend time with my wife. And it's literally a multiple seven figure. Yeah. That explode. And I go, always here. We're gonna Martini.
Ryan Serhant
Got it.
Interviewer/Host
Let's go. But you gotta be able to remind yourself, like, I've been doing it 20 years. You've been like, you always get through it. You always get through these things.
Ryan Serhant
The opportunity to be in the room to talk about that deal means that those deals are going to come and more of them are going to come and the next one's going to be a little easier. It's just not going to look like the one you thought you were going to put together. Like always. I always thought I was convinced. I'm a real estate broker in New York before I started this company. One day I'm going to do a deal for a hundred million dollars. I have to, right? If I'm going to be the best, I was the best. I'm gonna do it. The first hundred million dollar deal I knew is in Florida and. And I was not a broker in Florida when I did it. And that's in your book.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah, I read all three of your books.
Ryan Serhant
Oh, thanks.
Interviewer/Host
By the way, get all three of his books. If you're watching this, listening to this, it doesn't matter. The probably best business books brand it likes. Our Hamp was phenomenal. I want to get into this. I appreciate it that we're gonna get into that. Sell it like story Hamp.
Ryan Serhant
You want to get into sales now?
Interviewer/Host
Oi. Yes.
Ryan Serhant
Hey. All right, go ahead.
Lowe's Announcer
About your the best part of holiday gifting. Giving them something they'll use all year. During December deal drops at Lowe's. Save $40 on select Craftsman V20 tools. Now just $59 plus all rewards. Members get free standard shipping shop. New December deal drops every week. This month. Lowe's. We help you save. Valid through 1210 while supplies last. Free shipping excludes Alaska and Hawaii. Exclusions and more terms apply. Loyalty programs subject to terms and conditions. Subject to change. Visit lowe's.com shippingterms for details.
Capella University Announcer
@ Capella University, learning the right skills could make a difference. That's why our business programs teach you relevant skills. You can Take from the course room to the workplace. A different future is closer than you think with Capella University. Learn more at Capella.
GoFundMe/Grainger Announcer
Edu. If you're the purchasing manager at a manufacturing plant, you know having a trusted partner makes all the difference. That's why, hands down, you count on Grainger for auto reordering. With on time restocks, your team will have the cut resistant gloves they need at the start of their shift and you can end your day knowing they've got safety well in hand. Call 1-800-GRAINGER clickgrainger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it.
Indeed Announcer
Done.
Hiring isn't just about finding someone willing to take the job. You need the right person with the right background who can move your business forward. If you want candidates who truly match what you're looking for, trust Indeed Sponsored Jobs With Indeed Sponsored Jobs, your post stands out to quality candidates who actually fit the role. According To Indeed data, 90% are more likely to be hired and trusted by 1.6 million companies. Spend more time interviewing candidates who check all your boxes. Less stress, less time, more results. Now with Indeed Sponsored Jobs and listeners of this show will get a 75 doll sponsored job credit to help your job get the premium status it deserves@ Indeed.com podcast13 just go to Indeed.com podcast13 right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Indeed.com podcast 13 terms and conditions apply. Hiring do it the right way with.
Ryan Serhant
Indeed.
No, no. But like so so what I'm saying is the goal is to do a deal of that size. You put it out there, you think about it a little bit every day and it's now in the world. It's going to happen. You just don't know when it's going to happen. You know there's a finish line to the race. I thought it was going to be over there because that's what that guy said, but actually it's over there and so I'm going to run that way and holy shit, we just won the race. I just didn't know. It's fine as long as you just keep running and you hook stop. That is the number one way to not win is to stop. That's it. As long as you keep running. I know that running over a long period of time is really hard and most people aren't going to run that far or that fast or that hard and slowly but surely they will drop off or in our business, go to jail. I will do that business and.
Interviewer/Host
Win. Yeah. Do you do like vision boards and say, hey, I want to do this hundred million dollar deal. Or maybe not cars at your.
Ryan Serhant
Level. No, I could, I just personally haven't. I know, I know a lot of people who do. And it's great. They had their vision board is their, you know, their wallpaper on their phone or their, you know, their. Yeah, because you always think back to like Drake's screensaver was that house and then he bought that house, which is cool. You know, fun stories like that. I, I've always been a big like written goal guy. Like it's even, even down to, you know, now that we have this whole company, right. And I have these department meetings and these division meetings and these function meetings and like I make sure in every agenda is the annual goal. We will never not think about it and we'll never not pass it over. I don't want to have any meeting where we're just going to talk about stuff or anything. Are we marching towards that goal? Right. So that way everybody knows. And then when we cross it, great. Now we get to accelerate it. You know, that's, that's what we.
Interviewer/Host
Do. So I have five laws of success. First law of success. Decide what you want, who you need to be to get.
Ryan Serhant
It.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah. Commit to it. Take action. Obvious. Be extremely uncomfortable. And this is where I think some of your brilliance is, is you keep pushing your own needle and it's uncomfortable, but you keep going anyways. Yeah. And I think for those of you watching this and wanting to be like Orion or even of me at a smaller level, we're always uncomfortable because we're pushing our own levels. And that's uncomfortable because we've never been there. Right. And lastly, you touched on it. Why I brought it up was remove your time expectation on the result you're trying to achieve. Because if you just say, and you were saying like you always have a year end goal that you're going for, that's great. But if you could just do it faster, why don't you do it faster? Why do you have to wait for the.
Ryan Serhant
Year? It's Parkinson's law, which says that everything you set out to do is going to take exactly as long as you said you were going to do it. That's right. If it's going to take you 30 days, it's going to get done in 30 days. Because you had 30 days. If you can say, I can go do that in 24 hours, you're going to get it done. You see that in content all the.
Interviewer/Host
Time. All the.
Ryan Serhant
Time. You could take a week to do it. But you can also do it by tomorrow.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah. Or today. Right now, on your phone. Just whip it out right. These guys. I was the same way in college. If I had a semester to write a 15 page paper. Guess when I started writing this damn.
Ryan Serhant
Paper. Yeah, the night before. Yeah. It's like All Nighters.
Interviewer/Host
Oh. Ripped them. Right. Right until my senior year where I got caught plagiarizing because I was so.
Ryan Serhant
Tired. I just took the book, the.
Interviewer/Host
OG Literally out of books in a library. I was like, how did they find.
Ryan Serhant
That? It's a wild story.
Interviewer/Host
Stories. Oh, they're gonna be great. They're gonna be so impressed with dad. But I'll be able to give good advice. Let's put it that way. Great advice coming from me. We have only Manhattan season two coming.
Ryan Serhant
Out.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah. Excited? Ready?
Ryan Serhant
Yeah. Stuff takes forever, does it not? Like timelines. I do things faster. It just, you know, we. Yeah, look, I started with Netflix in 2022. Season one did come out until June of 2024. 4. You know, and as you're right, it drops all at the same time and you kind of have like a couple weeks of when it's there. And then there's 7,000 other shows that come.
Interviewer/Host
Out.
Ryan Serhant
Yeah. And it worked. Like, it worked. I really pushed to create something that was additive to the pop culture landscape. I do not want to do something I've done before. And I think because I'd done millionaire listing for 10 years.
Like, I wasn't gonna go do that.
Interviewer/Host
Again.
Ryan Serhant
Yeah. So it had to be different. Had to be a different journey, a different story. And so season two is complete insanity. Like, I've seen it now. It's wildly crazy. It is very scary. And I don't know, I hope people like it. What do you mean it's.
Interviewer/Host
Scary? Like, you lived it already.
Ryan Serhant
What?
Interviewer/Host
Yeah. This is you doing real estate. You running a team, you running an.
Ryan Serhant
Organization. Because it's so.
Interviewer/Host
Real.
Ryan Serhant
Yeah. It's so vulnerable. It's like most people. Like, listen, you're gonna edit this and you're gonna put this.
Interviewer/Host
Out.
Ryan Serhant
Yeah. You're gonna watch it. You're good. You're putting it out. It's an interview. Less scary. You're not saying anything in here. That's like, man, I wonder if that's gonna be right. In this show, there is. There are no boundaries and there are things that happen. There are scenes, there are things that are said that are like. That make me very.
Interviewer/Host
Nervous.
Ryan Serhant
Sure. Like how people are gonna. Because it's not just Me anymore as an agent. Right now, it's the company, the brand, the people. It's one piece of content across eight hours that we drop to 300 million people on one day. And everyone who's involved in this company has to be cool. So like, you know, and there's.
Interviewer/Host
It's. Everyone had to sign off. Right. Some sort.
Ryan Serhant
Of. Oh, I mean, if you're on.
Interviewer/Host
Camera. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
That. Yeah. Now you. I now understand why it would be scary because there's just times where I even. Even a content clip where I say some vulnerable. Like talking about, like, I'm not meant to be Mr. Super dad all the time. I'm like, am I gonna get. I'm gonna get dropped my. I'll lose some followers. But I can only imagine exposing how long was the.
Ryan Serhant
Recording. Like what season one was one.
Interviewer/Host
Year. Because we're.
Ryan Serhant
Hearing. Oh, yeah. Of filming. Because we were trying to figure out what the show was while we were making it. It's like a business. It was a startup show. Like we. They greenlit doing a show called House of Sarant about me selling real estate with agents in this building. So we're building. So it's called Sirhan House. All of our clubhouses. That's what they're called. Sarhan House, New York, Certain as Miami, all that stuff. And. And then. But like, we did want it to be Million dollar listing. It was a big thing for.
Interviewer/Host
Me.
Ryan Serhant
Yeah. And I was really annoying about. I'm not doing that show 2.0. It must be different. It must be something. I want to make sure when people watch this show, they're introduced to me in a way that had never been introduced before or they have no idea what they just watched. And a lot of the press and the feedback we got was. Was exactly that. It's like, I don't. It's not reality tv. It's not scripted. It's a new genre of like occupational docuse. Like, it's just like. So I think there was a Variety article or maybe it was in Vogue or something that was like, this show charts a new path for what docu follow can look.
Interviewer/Host
Like.
Ryan Serhant
Yeah. Which was like the biggest compliment I could have gotten because I spent two years of my life making it. Season two. We knew what we're making now. So it had spent six months checking color and shots and interview preps and all that so I could go in and just spent six months just going fucking ham. I'm on creating the absolute most entertaining and scary show possible. It's.
Interviewer/Host
Funny. I'll tell you you did a brilliant job season one. And the reason why I can say that is because this woman over here did not know you for a million dollar listing. And I said, hey, I'm in real estate, so I love these shows and got to know you through million dollar listing. And we watched Owning Manhattan and it was like every night, hey, let's go. Watch out Ryan guy again. Right? And I'm like, yeah, let's ride.
Ryan Serhant
Right. But fire the tattoo.
Interviewer/Host
Guy. Oh, that was a big thing. That's we. Yeah, yeah. Have you circled around? Have you seen that guy.
Ryan Serhant
Again? Okay, just.
Interviewer/Host
Wait. Got it. We'll keep that secret for a little.
Ryan Serhant
While.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Well, I would ask probably the last question to kind of leave you. And I know you're. You're time blocked and what do you see next? You've done some amazing dude and I've you and I have talked to a lot of great people doing amazing. Do you see bigger? Do you see push to to more? Do you see perfect what you built? What do you see as like the next chapter for Ryan as a person, as a CEO, the tech founder, as an author? Like, bro, you got a lot. His resume is big. What do you see the next season for good on Ready Books for bro, it's brutal. I wrote a book. It took me a whole year from one.
Ryan Serhant
Book. It's a lot. It's a lot of work. Yeah, it's a lot of work. So good at writing books. We're going to put three. I actually wrote a new chapter for selling extra hand. We're going to re release it as part of a box set in December when the show comes out that is all about how to sell using AI Because I sell to a lot of tech people.
Interviewer/Host
Right?
Ryan Serhant
Yeah.
Interviewer/Host
Apartments.
Ryan Serhant
Yeah. And they all then read my books, which is incredibly uncomfortable because then they know how I talk. And I'm like, wait, wait, you can't know my secrets. I use those to. To make this deal happen. And they're like, no, no, no. AI is going to replace a lot of jobs. Just like every technological invention is done over the course of history, but it doesn't replace houses and it doesn't replace the skill set of selling human to.
Interviewer/Host
Human.
Ryan Serhant
Yeah. Right. And so, yeah, there's a cool.
Interviewer/Host
New. We could do a whole another episode in a couple months about that. I think that would be an interesting episode on your frame on.
Ryan Serhant
That. Yeah, that'll December 5th. So I'll there you.
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Ryan Serhant
Indeed.
Listen, I I think I'm I kind of, like I said, pretty goal oriented. You know, my 2000-2010-2020 was to become the best real estate agent I could at the top of the market to be number one in the United States, right? If I could do a billion a year in sales plus on my own with a team help that would get me there. So I did that. Now the goal is to become the best real estate firm, right? And the best CBO that I can in the country. Okay? By 2030, if I can do that then, then the possibilities are. Are endless, I think. Okay. I think our metrics are incredibly strong. We're moving incredibly fast. Our customer acquisition cost is.
Interviewer/Host
Zero. And is that all based around your brand, your ability to be a content creator that did it the right way and was authentic and it drives that amount of.
Ryan Serhant
Traffic. Everything we do here is inbound. Right. The goal is to build leave flow in your.
Interviewer/Host
Sleep.
Ryan Serhant
Yeah. And so my problem is growth. My problem is supporting the growth. That's right. And so I'm excited about the next couple years in aligning, like our companies now with. With the people that will really understand that what got us here doesn't necessarily get us there.
And just go, go for broke.
Interviewer/Host
Man. Take big swings, you know, I love that. That is because. Why not? What's the worst that happened? You're not gonna.
Ryan Serhant
Die. I mean, I could die. I could.
Interviewer/Host
Definitely. Depends what swing you're.
Ryan Serhant
Taking. I got an MRI the other day. We came back clean, but I.
Interviewer/Host
Do. Are you big in your health? Because I did the same thing. I did a whole CT scan. I went to every August. See, I went to Texas to do this because I wanted a ct, not an MRI of your whole body. Because the CT can get your heart and it can get.
Ryan Serhant
Everything. Yeah, I do that every other year because of the radiation. But.
Interviewer/Host
Yes. Yeah, I'm big on that because I want to be around. I don't want to just be here for a short time. I want to be here for a long.
Ryan Serhant
Time. Yeah, I'm the opposite. I was kind of. Like I said, stay.
Really wanted to have that. Sit down. Really, guys, I'm.
Interviewer/Host
Out. Yeah, Daddy's.
Ryan Serhant
Gone. Look at the record. Yeah, it's a bit rough. Yeah. You guys have killed.
Interviewer/Host
Me. If you can give those people who are aspiring to be bigger content creators, I believe full heartedly, you got to build your personal brand. What can you speak to branding? You've been brilliant at it. Talk a second about branding before we leave. Here is the power of it, the need for it, what to lean into. Do you lean into your company? Do you lean into your personal brand of Ryan Sirhant? What can we leave the listeners and watchers of.
Ryan Serhant
This? That's a little.
Interviewer/Host
Question. It is. You wrote a book on it. Get his book. That question is not just buy his fucking book. You'll get the point. But in a minute or.
Ryan Serhant
Two.
I don't actually know what a content creator is in a bubble, right. Other than someone who is taking videos or taking photos of a thing or a person and putting it out to the world and asking the world to pay attention to me. Okay, so that's kind of like the tool.
I think. What are we trying to do across social and platforms? Trying to create attention or trying to build community, trying to build audience. And we do that because you're getting followers. Right. But followers do what? Followers are following leaders.
Interviewer/Host
Right?
Ryan Serhant
Yeah. You're either a leader or you're a follower. And so you have to make a choice. You're either going to be a follower, which means you're going to do a lot of copycat.
Interviewer/Host
Stuff.
Ryan Serhant
Yeah. Or you can be a leader, you can carve your own path. I think the best leaders who then therefore are potentially the best content creators, but the best. I would not look at myself as a content creator or look at myself as a leader and a subject matter matter.
Interviewer/Host
Expert.
Ryan Serhant
Right. Think the best leaders, let me say it this way. I think good leaders.
Convince everyone else to believe in you. I think great meters, the best ones convince everyone else to believe in themselves.
And that's what makes great content that you want to follow, that you want to listen to. I have no interest in swiping through and being like, oh, his life is great. I have interest in seeing people where I'm like, man.
My life could be great. Yeah, right. Because everybody is just stuck between two years if they're lucky. And. And that's where I think people need to take a step back and focus. Stop focusing on the output and start focusing more on what even is that input that makes you a leader. That should create a following, even if it's small. I think it should be.
Interviewer/Host
Small.
Ryan Serhant
Right. There's riches and niches that way. And that's how you create that authenticity. That's why we have our audience, that's why you have yours. That's why, you know, my guy Hormozi has his, like, people follow authenticity. All of us here are here in part in some way because of Gary. I could. Some way. You know, there's no doubt early, early, early influencer and Casey. Yeah, right. Like those guys that carve path and hey, you can really build something on the back of community, but you have to pick your lane. I'm a follower, I'm a leader. If I'm going to be a leader, that I need to produce stuff that makes everyone feel great about that.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah. Not about me.
And brother, that was phenomenal, guys. This episode, you don't even know half the shit we said behind the scenes. But if this was pretty cool and you like this guy Ryan Soraya, I'd love for you to share it with two people because Owning Manhattan Season 2 comes out December 5th. Get his books if you believe in branding. If you're watching listening this probably because you believe in me and follow me. Make sure you follow him. But get his book. It talks all about branding. The power of it. I appreciate you guys. See you on the next episode. Thank.
Ryan Serhant
You. Solid call to action. Let's.
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Ryan Serhant
Done.
If you like the show, please.
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Take a moment to rate, review and.
Ryan Serhant
Subscribe. It really does help the show to.
Indeed Announcer
Grow. Thank you for listening.
Host: Justin Colby
Guest: Ryan Serhant
Date: December 8, 2025
In this energetic and candid episode, Justin Colby welcomes Ryan Serhant, renowned real estate broker, entrepreneur, author, and star of Netflix’s "Owning Manhattan." The conversation dives into Ryan's approach to scaling a personal brand, achieving work-life integration, building resilient businesses, and lessons learned through failure and perseverance. The episode is rich with practical advice, vulnerable stories, and actionable takeaways for entrepreneurs striving to go big without losing themselves in the process.
On Scaling Up:
“I just spent a lot of time finding and looking for great people and they help me do all of that stuff.” – Ryan Serhant [02:40]
On Authentic Content:
“Fake, fake, fake, fake. Authentic. And we all pause on authentic moments.” – Ryan Serhant [04:56]
On Time Mastery:
“I control what I can control. I can only control my time.” – Ryan Serhant [07:40]
On Written Goals:
“I keep everything in focus at all times. That way when everyone brings me different issues, those issues are not a focus and the focus will not be that issue.” – Ryan Serhant [12:15]
On Losing in Sales:
“My job is to lose...Every win then becomes a bonus. And that really, really, really helped me.” – Ryan Serhant [23:44]
On Big Swings:
“Take big swings...What’s the worst that happens? You're not gonna die.” – Justin Colby [42:46-42:54]
“Everything we do here is inbound. The goal is to build lead flow in your sleep.” – Ryan Serhant [42:20]
On Branding and Leadership:
“The best leaders convince everyone else to believe in themselves. And that's what makes great content that you want to follow.” – Ryan Serhant [45:22]
Ryan Serhant’s story and philosophy provide a candid roadmap for entrepreneurs striving for scale and authenticity. From daily discipline to building teams, enduring losses, and nurturing both personal and professional goals, Ryan’s testimony encourages relentless authenticity, vision, and bold action.
His advice on branding centers on genuine leadership — not just gaining attention, but empowering others to believe in themselves. The episode ends with a call to take big swings, stay focused on clear goals, and never stop moving forward.
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