Meet Paul Bastian

 

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Paul Bastian. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Paul below.

Paul, so many exciting things to discuss, we can’t wait. Thanks for joining us and we appreciate you sharing your wisdom with our readers. So, maybe we can start by discussing optimism and where your optimism comes from?

If I’m an optimist, it’s because I consider myself an especially lucky person. There have been far too many instances in my life where The Universe has given me a good hand to play. I’ve been fortunate enough to be surrounded by a fantastic and loving wife, the most incredible friends anyone could ask for, and some truly wonderful colleagues. I’m not sure what I’ve done in this life to earn these blessings – or what I have yet to do with my life in order to earn them – but I’m grateful for every day that I get to live and breathe, and I’m intent on becoming the best human that I can be. Of course, there are moments when I feel defeated, or depressed, or frustrated, but then I remember that, somehow, things always seem to work out. Some would say that one creates one’s own luck. If I’ve had any agency in making my reality a blessed one, it’s by trusting in The Universe. As trite as it might sound, I have great faith that there’s a reason behind everything that happens. I also know that it’s not always ours to understand what the reason might be. Sometimes things simply happen, and we never get to understand why. Being okay with that and continuing on a forward path is a huge part of my maintaining a positive outlook.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I started working at Keller Williams Metro at the very beginning of March of 2021. I briefly spent time working the front desk, but was quickly promoted to the financial office. I handled the market center’s bank accounts, incoming escrows, accounts receivable, financial analysis and reporting, and ensuring that all monies moving through the office were managed according to the stringent standards and protocols that every brokerage must follow. When I started with KW, I had no intention of becoming a Realtor®, but after about a year, I fell in love with the idea of being an entrepreneur and small business owner. So, I went through the prerequisite training and passed my real estate exam on the first run.

Because I took the unique path that I did into this industry, everything that I know about real estate, I learned from the back end forward. I can read and interpret the huge packets of documents that accompany every real estate transaction and translate those documents for my clients. I wouldn’t have it any other way. The fact that my clients can rest assured that I’m able to speak with them in plain terms about everything that’s going on in their transaction. and am able to interpret the litany of documents they receive, is a rather unique benefit that I provide.

Since I became a Realtor®, I’ve been fortunate to help many friends, both old and new, buy, sell, or rent their homes. I feel as though I’ve found my true calling, and that this is important work. Don’t get me wrong, I’m under no illusions that I’ll be winning any humanitarian awards for being a real estate agent. But the reality is that the sale or purchase of a home is typically the largest transaction of someone’s life, one that people typically only make 1 – 3 times in their entire lifetime. It’s also a very emotional undertaking. If people are placing their trust in me to guide them through this process, that’s a big deal, and something that I don’t take lightly.

In addition to my life as an agent, I’ve recently been appointed Secretary of The City of Royal Oak’s Historic District Commission. The HDC is a seven-member body, selected by City Leadership, to review all plans for the construction, addition, alteration, repair, moving, excavation, or demolition of resources in Royal Oak’s fifteen Historic Districts. I’m a history buff; it’s been of interest to me since I was very young. I love learning about the past and how it inevitably affects the present and future. I’ve also lived in Royal Oak for nearly my entire life. To serve the community by helping preserve the history and charm of the city that has shaped me the most has been incredibly gratifying.

The newest project that the HDC is involved with is the restoration of four historical bridges in the Vinsetta Park neighborhood, which is where I grew up and where my family had a home for 50 years. It’s a passion project for me; to be involved in the restoration of a small fixture of my childhood so that future generations can enjoy it is both an honor and a labor of love.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

One quality that has seriously impacted my journey in life is a thirst for knowledge. I’m a strong advocate for lifelong learning. There’s an old quote that says, “If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room.” I try to surround myself with people who challenge me to grow, improve, and be better.

The second goes hand in hand with the first, and that’s humility. I don’t know it all. One of my favorite ways to start a sentence is with the words “I could be wrong.” I have faults and flaws. If I admit to them and own them, I can work around them. It’s been my experience that people respond better to the words “I don’t know the answer, but I’ll find out and get back with you” than they do to falsehoods and misdirection.

The third quality that has helped me most is adaptability. I started out in life as the youngest of eleven children, so I had to learn to adapt to different personality types pretty quickly, I’ve worked in food service, hospitality, office administration, law, retail, and small business environments. I’ve built relationships and become a teammate with people from all socioeconomic, racial, ethnic, religious, political, gender identity, and sexual orientation demographics. I wouldn’t have it any other way. I make it a point to be open, flexible, and inclusive. In the world in which we live – and especially the business I’ve chosen as my career – I don’t see how I’d thrive being anything less.

Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?

I count myself especially blessed to hang my shingle at KW Metro. The Keller Williams environment in general is one that fosters continued growth and education, and nowhere more so than the KW Metro office. To that end, I’ve always felt encouraged to stretch and to learn and become a master of the trade.

Justin Oliver, KW Metro’s Team Leader, has been an invaluable resource and incredibly generous with his time, acumen, and savvy. While it would be easy for an individual running an office of over 300 agents to let someone fall through the cracks, he’s always made time for me whenever I’ve needed him. He’s even gone so far as to, at my request, offer professional counsel to my wife, who is an entrepreneur herself outside of the real estate industry.

A former leader in my office who is now Team Leader of another KW location, Alicia Leonard, has encouraged me in all my endeavors even prior to my Day One with Keller Williams. Were it not for her, I’d likely never have found my way into the KW world. She’s been an advocate for me since before I was hired, and has become a close friend with whom I can always discuss what’s going on in both my professional and personal lives.

Several of my peers have offered ideas, insight, advice, tools, support, and helped me develop the skills and mindset that I use every day – Mark Culpepper, Chris Kinch, Danny Dedic, Brad Mikon, Liz Belanger, Logan Wert, and Colleen Levitt chief among them. These are the people I go to most frequently with questions, ideas that I’m hashing out, approaches I’m thinking of taking, and frustrations I may be having. I wouldn’t be where I am without their friendship and support.

Above all, my wife, Jennifer Banovetz-Bastian, has been the ideal spouse while I pursue this notoriously rollercoaster-like career path. She has made me smarter, more well-rounded, more empathetic, more thoughtful, more considerate, and in spite of the length of my answers to these questions, a better editor of my thoughts, words, and actions. All of this while managing the lion’s share of the life we’re building together. I wouldn’t be who or where I am without her.

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