Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jimmy Grappone. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Jimmy, we are so happy that our community is going to have a chance to learn more about you, your story and hopefully even take in some of the lessons you’ve learned along the way. Let’s start with self-care – what do you do for self-care and has it had any impact on your effectiveness?
I have a morning routine which I created that is based off of Hal Elrod’s Miracle Morning. Elrod talks about doing 6 things every morning that make up the acronym SAVERS – for Sit, Affirmations, Visualization, Exercise, Read and Scribe (Write). I shortened my routine into the 4 areas that impact my day the most, and I call it EMRJ (pronounced “emerge”).
EMRJ stands for Exercise, Meditate, Read and Journal. I don’t get to all 4 things every day, but when I do I notice that I have more energy, patience, focus and stamina throughout the day.
For Exercise, I’ll either do a 30-minute video workout combining cardio and strength training, or I’ll read the stationary bike or walk 2-3 miles.
For Meditation, I like to a 10-15 minute guided meditation on my phone or through the at-home workout program we subscribe to.
For Reading, I keep a 365 day devotional book in our home gym, aka, the “Wellness Room,” and I like to read the passage from that day. I’m also currently reading “The Compound Effect” by Darren Hardy, and I like to read or listen to a few pages or a chapter from a self-improvement or business related book or podcast.
For Journaling, I keep a Moleskine notebook and colored pens I use to journal about whatever is on my mind. Sometimes it is structured and sometimes I just start writing freestyle and words spill out onto the page. I don’t necessarily like to keep a structured journal as I find that writing freely helps me get ideas out of my head which sometimes turns into actionable items or sometimes frees up my mind to think about other things.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
First and foremost, I consider myself an entrepreneur and storyteller. My primary trade is working in residential real estate sales as a Realtor. I’ve had my real estate license in North Carolina and South Carolina for 10 years and I’ve helped hundreds of people buy and sell homes over the course of the past decade. I love the variety of what I do and the different challenges that come in helping someone buy or sell a property. Being both a buyer’s agent and a listing agent is like playing offense and defense in the same sport as they each require slightly different skill sets. I enjoy listing homes for sale as I feel like I’ve mastered the art of marketing properties and driving maximum interest. I also enjoy working with buyers who are new to the area or who haven’t purchased a home in a while. I approach each transaction with a teacher’s mentality and my Core Values in real estate are Communication, Education, Negotiation and Coordination.
I’m also the Founder & Owner, Blogger and Content Creator for the Charlotte-inspired brand, The CLT Life. I have a website, TheCLTLife.com, a YouTube channel, and e-commerce store that sells Charlotte inspired gear and apparel. For content, I primarily interview local business owners, community leaders and area influencers, and the overall theme of the brand is aligned with my interests: Business, Beer and Sports. I also post videos and write blogs about the local real estate market, showcasing featured listings, and sharing real estate related advice and information with the public.
I’m really excited about the products we sell at our e-commerce store, TheCLTLife.com/Shop, and I’m excited about participating in a couple of upcoming vendor events this Fall and Winter. Check out our Charlotte inspired designs and let me know what you think!
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
The three qualities that serve as the North Star of my journey are Curiosity, Persistence and having a Growth Mindset.
I was a good student in school and I’ve always been naturally curious, which has led me down several different avenues in my life and my career. I attended college at The University of Virginia, and we were referred to as first, second, third and fourth year students – never as freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors – because the school’s founder, Thomas Jefferson, believed that you can never be a senior when it comes to learning. Learning is a lifelong process and it’s important to maintain your curiosity and desire to learn new things.
In business, as in life, there will be plenty of stumbles along the way. You’ll face times when you feel like whatever you’re doing is too difficult or not worth continuing, and sometimes you’ll be right. But if you’re truly passionate about something, don’t give up. Take a break, take a step backwards if you need to, but don’t quit or give up on your dreams. Pick yourself back up, dust yourself off and get back up on the metaphorical horse. Carol Dweck has a book called “Grit,” which is mostly about what it takes to persevere.
Grit is also about the difference between Growth Mindset and Fixed Mindset. In many ways, I had a fixed mindset for much of my life. As a child, I was always told I was naturally smart, or “gifted.” I was bigger than most of my peers and a good athlete, so I dominated on the sports field until I got to the Varsity level. I was a very good high school football player, and I had a few injuries that likely stunted my athletic career, but because I thought I was a naturally good player, I probably didn’t work as hard as I might have if I’d had more of a Growth Mindset. A Fixed Mindset says you are innately good at something or bad at something no matter how hard you work at it. A Growth Mindset says you may not be good at something today, but you can work at it, practice it, study it and become very good at it in the future. I’m not sure when it happened exactly, but at some point I came to understand and adopt a Growth Mindset and it’s made all the difference.
So my advice to anyone early in their journey is to 1. Be Curious, 2. Be Persistent in pursuing your goals, and 3. Have a Growth Mindset.
What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?
The biggest obstacle I’m currently facing in my businesses is developing consistency and maintaining momentum.
As a Realtor, I am very confident in my ability to provide an extremely high level of service that serves my clients’ best interests. However, my biggest challenge is maintaining a steady flow of business and not riding the waves of seasonality. People need to buy and sell houses 12 months out of the year, and one of the things I’m currently working on is developing and executing strategies to attract home buyers and sellers 12 months out of the year through intentionality. I’m actually working with a coach on this now.
With The CLT Life, my biggest challenge is consistently creating, editing and posting quality content and getting the word out about the brand to grow a larger audience. I’d love to partner with another one or two local people who share a passion for Charlotte and for being storytellers to co-create content and assist with promoting the brand.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thecltlife.com
- Instagram: @jimmygrapponeclt; @the.clt.life
- Facebook: @jimmygrapponeclt; @thecltlife
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmygrappone
- Youtube: https://www.YouTube.com/TheCLTLife
