What does it actually take to build a $40M real estate team?

In this episode of the We Attitude Podcast, David Nations shares the full journey — from getting licensed at the worst possible time (right before the 2008 crash) to building and scaling a $40M real estate business.

This isn’t a highlight reel. It’s the real story.

We talk about:
• Starting in survival mode during a recession
• Discounting yourself before you understand your value
• The moment you realize you are the bottleneck
• Why hiring admin before agents changes everything
• How coaching accelerated growth
• Building systems before chasing more business
• Transitioning out of production into leadership
• Scaling a real estate team the right way

If you’re a real estate agent, team leader, or entrepreneur trying to grow beyond yourself, this conversation will challenge the way you think about leadership, leverage, and long-term vision.

Growth doesn’t stall because of the market.
It stalls because we don’t evolve.

Whether you’re building your first team, considering coaching, or trying to get out of your own way, this episode breaks down the mindset and models that made the difference.

Topics Covered:

Real estate team building
Keller Williams growth model
Scaling a real estate business
Real estate leadership lessons
From agent to CEO
Hiring your first admin
MAPS coaching
How to stop being the bottleneck
Building leverage in real estate
Long-term business vision

If this episode helped you, subscribe for more conversations around leadership, growth, and building something bigger than yourself.

#RealEstateLeadership #RealEstateTeam #KellerWilliams #EntrepreneurMindset #TeamBuilding #BusinessGrowth

00:00 Friendship, History, and the Long View
04:30 Falling Into Real Estate Without a Master Plan
09:00 Getting Licensed at the Worst Possible Time
13:00 Survival Mode: Doing What Worked Before You Knew Better
17:30 Exposure Changes Everything
21:00 Committing to a Vision Bigger Than Reality
25:00 Learning Value, Confidence, and What You’re Worth
29:30 The Messy Reality of Building a Team
33:00 The First Critical Hire and Building the Backend
36:30 Hiring to the Future, Not the Present
39:30 Leadership Growth, Coaching, and Scaling Beyond Yourself
42:30 Lessons Learned and the Myth of the Ceiling

Growth Always Demands Alignment

Why direction matters more than speed

Growth is often celebrated.
Alignment is rarely discussed.

In this episode, David sits down with Matt to unpack a truth most leaders don’t recognize until later in their journey: growth without alignment comes at a cost.

From living in constant fight-or-flight…
to saying yes to opportunities while quietly saying no to relationships…
to realizing that momentum doesn’t always mean progress…

This conversation explores what happens when success starts to outpace clarity.

They talk about:

• Why growth eventually exposes misalignment
• The hidden tradeoffs that come with saying yes to everything
• How small alignment issues compound over time
• Why focus becomes harder — not easier — as you grow
• And the difference between moving fast and moving in the right direction

This isn’t a tactical episode.
It’s a reflective one.

If you’re building something — a business, a career, or a life — this conversation will challenge how you think about growth, focus, and direction.

🎧 Listen if you’re asking:

• “Am I growing… or just getting busier?”
• “Why does success feel heavier than I expected?”
• “What am I trading without realizing it?”

Most people talk about betting on themselves. Very few talk about what it actually looks like when it goes wrong.

In this episode of the We Attitude Podcast, David sits down with one of his closest friends to unpack a journey that didn’t follow a straight line—from the mailroom, to sales, to failed partnerships, to entrepreneurship, and eventually the boardroom.

This isn’t a highlight reel.

It’s a real conversation about:
- Trying before you feel ready
- Why failure isn’t the problem—fear of failure is
- The difference between being good at sales and actually running a business
- How networking becomes powerful when it’s intentional
- Why partners matter more than ideas
- And how confidence is built after action, not before

From junior hockey lessons and locker-room brotherhood to business setbacks, leadership growth, and learning to walk into rooms with purpose—this episode breaks down what betting on yourself really means.

If you’ve ever felt stuck, hesitant, or unsure of your next move—this conversation is for you.

Watch until the end for the mindset shift that separates people who talk about growth from those who actually experience it.

In this first podcast episode, David sits down with Chad Wilson from Keller Williams in the St. Louis / St. Charles area to unpack Chad’s journey from military service to real estate leadership. Chad shares how joining the Air National Guard at a young age and spending decades as an air traffic controller—both overseas and at Lambert—shaped his mindset around preparation, adaptability, and performing under pressure.

The conversation connects those lessons to real estate, covering Chad’s early experiences with rental properties, the transition into retail real estate, and how focusing on results, relationships, and “running the math” helped him build credibility with clients and builders alike. They also discuss hiring and leverage, learning through adversity, and how those principles continue to guide team growth as the industry evolves and AI begins to play a larger role.