RICK GEHA - EXECUTIVE AGENT MAGAZINE

AGENT MAGAZINE

E x e c u t i v e A g e n t M a g a z i n e - A l a m e d a / C o n t r a C o s t a C o u n t y - J a n u a r y, 2 0 2 2

Executive Agent of the Month

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EXECUTIVE

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Written by H. K. Wilson

ccording to Rick Geha, adaptability is one of the greatest strengths a human being can possess, and his own life’s journey proves the rule. A NorCal native, Rick is one of five children born into a large and close-knit Lebanese family. By ninth grade, he was certain that it was his destiny to become a dentist, but after being rejected by 13 dental schools, he was forced to rethink his future.

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While deciding what to do next, he begrudgingly joined his uncle’s brokerage and took up real estate as an interim trade. Forty-one years later, Rick is an award-winning Realtor® and leader of The Rick Geha Team at eXp Realty in Fremont. He is also a highly sought after speaker and trainer who travels the country inspiring and developing professionals across the industry.

Opening Doors To Success Real estate brought out Rick’s natural talent for sales, and in the early 2000s, his success led him to open nine franchises for KW Realty. Then disaster struck in the guise of the Great Recession. Rick is most humble when he describes the ruin in which he found himself. “I lost my three homes, I was $1.4 million in debt, divorced and living in an apartment,” he recalls. “I had two sons in their late teens/early 20s who still depended on me, and I didn’t feel I had the luxury of failing. I remember pulling into a gas station to put gas in my Volvo SUV with 230,000 miles on it, and I had no credit cards and only an ATM card with 13 bucks on it. I had to show properties, but I had no gas. I reached into the glove compartment and found a gas card given to me by an organization I’d done a free 30-minute speech for. I

sat there and leaned my head on the steering wheel and started crying. I was determined this was never happening to me again.”

That Saturday, Rick went back to basics and started door knocking. He knew how to sell houses, and so he did. In 2017, he discovered eXp Realty, where in addition to his own 14-member production team, he has recruited more than 2,300 people to the organization. What does Rick look for in the people he musters?

“People must be hungry, humble, smart and coachable,” he says. “If they have those four things, then they will be welcome. You always have to be willing to listen and learn something new, and it’s incumbent on me also, regardless of my years of experience.”

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Along the way, Rick met and married his partner in life and business, Casey Council-Geha. Together, they are an unstoppable force, intent on building an organization that is a “win-win-win” for everyone who signs on. Rick focuses on sales and recruiting, while Casey perfects systems and operations. In addition to their joint commitment to building and maintaining a phenomenal real estate organization, they are united in giving back to the community by supporting causes they believe in, especially those related to feeding needy children and treating/curing cancer.

Many people have been inspired by Rick’s coaching, leadership and personal triumphs. But he has also been inspired, and he counts among his mentors some of the greatest personal development trainers and leaders in the real estate industry: PSI Seminars Area Director Gary Perez; Berkshire Hathaway CEO Gino Blefari;

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KW Realty Founder and Chairman Gary Keller; and eXp Realty Founder and CEO Glenn Sanford.

Rick also gives much credit for who he is today to his parents. He grew up enriched by his family’s Lebanese heritage and the opportunity to travel extensively. “My dad was born and raised in the U.S., and my mom was born and raised in Lebanon. She was a driven entrepreneur, and he was more traditional, corporate guy. In my personal life, I’ve realized I have been drawn to strong, powerful women because of my mom’s example. And I have certainly found that in Casey. My dad was a person who always treated people with kindness, respect and patience. When he died of cancer, he was so peaceful, because he had no apologies to make. That’s what I’m going for by the time I reach that point, and I want to be a living example to other people, especially my two sons.”

Rick has concluded that two things are required to achieve happiness and success in real estate and in life: faith and gratitude. “There will always be pain in life, so you need faith that the pain will lead to a miracle, and gratitude for the pain because it is what led you to the miracle. That intersection is where all peace lies.”

The world of real estate is inherently fast-moving and ever-changing. It is a field that requires its practitioners to constantly learn, grow and adapt. Rick counsels that

those qualities begin within ourselves. “Take time to put yourself first. When you’re as healthy, happy and prosperous as you like, and you have committed to doing what you said you would do for you, then you can help more people than you ever could have before. You’re not any good if you’re dead or broke because you didn’t take care of yourself. Get where you want to go — then go out and change the world!”

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Rick Geha Rick Geha Team

eXp Realty Tel: 510.760.9902 Email: Rick@RickGeha.com Web: www.RickGehaTeam.com DRE # 00784008