David Easton & Ryan McDaniel
-- About David Easton:
For most of my life I have had my head in the clouds, both literally and figuratively. At a very young age, I dreamt of airplanes and flying. Piloting remote control airplanes was one of my favorite pastimes, and as soon as I was old enough to legally get my private pilot certificate, I did. I followed my love for aviation all the way up to the John D. Odegard School of Aerospace at the University of North Dakota (UND) in Grand Forks, North Dakota where I earned a degree in Aerospace Sciences, majoring in Commercial Aviation. After my time in Grand Forks, a flight instructor position took me to Santa Monica, California. Flight instructing allowed me to truly appreciate the value of my knowledge and skill set that I had attained and cultivated through my college education.
Unfortunately, though, sometimes life isn’t fair. I always thought it would be, but it tends to throw you some “curve balls”. One such curve occurred at the age of 26, when I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. The FAA has a “Blanket Protocol” against insulin-dependent diabetics (such as all Type 1’s), so they rescinded my ability to receive a 1st and 2nd class medical. No longer was I allowed to utilize my commercial pilot certificate. The devastating loss of my 1st career passion was an even larger blow to me than the onset of my chronic disease. After many years of feeling sorry for myself and kicking around a variety of unfulfilling dead end jobs, the choice became clear. Coming from a family of independent business owners both in real estate sales and home construction, I decided to follow in my parents’ footsteps and jump in head first to real estate!
The Learning Law of Primacy:
“Primacy”, the state of being first, often creates a strong, almost unshakable, impression. Things learned first are very difficult to erase. Therefore, “unteaching” wrong first impressions is considerably harder than teaching a concept right the first time. For both student and instructor, this means that what is taught must be correct if one does not wish to retrace his or her steps…or worse.
It was imperative as a pilot that I taught my students with the utmost degree of accuracy, professionalism and humble understanding. The stakes are high when making a mistake during flight, and if a student is improperly taught, it could be the difference between life and death.
A similar set of circumstances exists in real estate. Fortunately, nothing that I can do as a Realtor will cause the loss of life (Although, some clients have shared past real estate experiences in which they wanted to either kill their Realtor or crawl into a hole and die!). It has been stated by a variety of sources, that buying or selling a home is one of the most stressful events in a person’s life. An incorrect series of decisions in a transaction has the ability to transform an experience that, otherwise, has all the ingredients to be a wonderful one.
In my opinion, there is a right and a wrong way to buy and sell real estate. Every transaction should be a collaboration between many different parties with the client intimately involved at every stage. I feel it is at the root of my professional responsibility to teach my clients the right way the first time (that whole primacy thing). Through setting realistic expectations, communicating diligently and clearly understanding my client’s objectives, buying or selling can in fact be enjoyable!
“Hire a Teacher, Not a Salesperson.” - Dave Ramsey
A true professional values education. I also feel that a true professional values acting as a consultant rather than a salesperson. I value that my brief participation in someone’s real estate experience may have benefited them or even propelled them into a better position in life. I value being a trusted advisor and a visionary with sight of, and insight to, their “big picture”. Solving problems and setting a plan of action to achieve a common goal via a logical process are also things I enjoy. I am a people person through and through, and I am mindful of the responsibilities I have to my clients in every transaction and with every referral I receive. My clients continue to bless me through their willingness to refer me, and I can proudly say that 95%+ of my business is by referral. I am in this business for you, and I am committed to being your life long real estate resource. Thank you!
-- About Ryan McDaniel
Hi, my name is Ryan McDaniel, and I was born in Tulsa, OK to Gary and Susan McDaniel in 1975. I grew up in the suburb of Broken Arrow and graduated with Distinction, playing baseball and basketball at the gigantic B.A.H.S. After attending the School of Mines in Golden, CO for 1-year, I transferred back home to Oklahoma University and changed majors. Like a lot of young people from my generation, I was diluted- thinking things were going to come very easily to me. As it became evident that this wasn’t the case, I became withdrawn, dropped out of school, and began working in restaurants around Tulsa to pay the bills. Before I knew it, several years had passed and I was at a crossroads: make a career out of the restaurant business or go back to school and get an education. All of the late nights, holidays, and failed relationships that I saw my managers suffer through at the restaurant didn’t appeal to me, so I chose the latter, putting myself through Tulsa Community College. When I was done there, I chose to relocate back to the Oklahoma City area, re-enroll in O.U., and transfer to an Outback Steakhouse (the company I had been at for the last 5 years) in that area.
Always having been a great student growing up, my goal at that point was to get my auspicious GPA up, by the time of graduation, over the 3.0 threshold, which I did (3.05). With my strong GPA in the Price College of Business classes and the recommendation of a couple of existing members, I was able to apply for and be accepted into the prestigious Delta Sigma Pi Professional Fraternity, which I’m still active in to this day. Through this experience, I feel I rediscovered purpose, belonging, openness, generosity…a lot of qualities which had gone by the wayside while I was focusing on my “first world problems” of my young adulthood. I worked at Outback Steakhouse this whole time as well, eventually logging 9+ years there. I liked the company, developed a strong pride in my job, and became a tireless worker as I tried to make the lea way I needed (on my modest wages) to be able to afford school.
After graduating from Oklahoma University, I worked for various companies in Oklahoma City and Tulsa over the next several years, eventually becoming sales manager of a publication in Tulsa, but I felt as though I was still not in a position which would allow me to reach my full potential. The year was 2008. It was at this time that my father’s health took a major turn for the worse, from obesity and years of abusing alcohol and cigarettes. However, he was the same genuine, gregarious, charismatic guy through it all that he was known as throughout his entire life. During his month-long hospital stay and through much insistence, he convinced an attractive Dominican-born nurse (Attractive in scrubs? Now that’s saying something!) who he had developed a special relationship with and myself to start talking on the phone. One night his heart stopped, this time for good, but not before he had put Betty and I together in his final days, when the best he could do is to write notes, with much hardship, still urging us to “go out”. I planted that first kiss on Betty the morning of his funeral, and the rest is history.
Shortly thereafter, Betty saw an ad calling for agents at an independent, high volume real estate firm, Accent Realtors, in Tulsa. The lessons that had eventually manifested, with much tumultuousness, through my years in restaurants: hard work, meticulous service, and thorough communication, along with the confidence and sense of greater purpose that I discovered during my return to the university, suddenly seemed to fit my new job description very well. I got hired on, soon became the highest producing agent on the team, and wound up closing 130+ transaction there over the next 5 years. I finally felt as though I had found my calling.
When her family relocated to beautiful Colorado to start Eating Recovery Center and Betty and I had a beautiful baby girl, the volume became deafening from her family for us to follow them to Denver and take advantage of the increased opportunities that this vibrant metro area had to offer. Anyway, I think that’s what they meant by “get that baby to Colorado!” It was during this ongoing discussion regarding the move, that Betty’s dad put me in touch with Dave Easton, Managing Broker at Elevation Realty. Dave’s knowledge of the area (as a metro Denver native), willingness to spend time with me to ensure my success here, and emphasis on always doing the right thing for his clients appealed to me greatly. I joined forces with him at the start of 2015, and the future has never looked brighter for the McDaniel clan!