Walking into the Unknown with Scotty Schindler

If you pay close attention, you will notice that your early childhood experiences often leave an indelible mark on your psyche. For better or for the worse, these experiences define you and the choices you make as an adult. My guest today was raised in a modest single parent house. The struggles and challenges he experienced in his early life helped him develop a clear vision of what he wanted in his adult life. In this week’s article, you will learn how my guest turned adversity upside down by aligning with his inner core and being comfortable with himself.

My ninth guest for ‘Walking into the Unknown’ series is Scotty Schindler, a business and sports leader from Australia. Scotty is a retired startup founder and CEO of ReNet, a company he started in 2000, and eventually sold in 2015, which managed over 1.25 Trillion Dollars in real estate across Australia and New Zealand. He is also a keen surfer and has won multiple Surfing Titles.

Question: When did you decide to step into the unknown?

Scotty: I have been comfortable with being in the unknown from a young age. I remember I was in grade 4 when I changed school and somehow didn’t fit in with the new classmates. I didn’t hang around with anybody and was a loner. All that changed in high school when I became a good surfer. All of a sudden people wanted to hang around with me, which I thought was very fake. When I found the ocean, I became much more comfortable with just being on my own.

I also grew up with a single parent and three sisters, and I was determined to create a different environment for myself than the one I was raised in. In looking back, those early childhood experiences shaped my thinking. I remember as a 16-year-old kid; I didn’t focus on partying and doing all the mischievous things that some kids that age do. Instead, I was thinking about what I wanted my life to look like when I was 30-year-old.

When it came time to choose a career, I made up my mind to get into sales because I saw a local broker drive a new car. I saw him as successful and wealthy. And I remember thinking to myself, he’s got a new car and maybe if I become a broker, I could one day buy a new car too. That’s as far as I thought.

Question: How did the decision of stepping into the unknown pan out for you?

Scotty: I spent ten years in the Insurance Sales, where I learned how to sell, how to manage a Sales team, and learned the ropes of operating a business. That one decade gave me an excellent foundation to grow and evolve as an entrepreneur. Ironically, I succeeded in Sales because I got stuck in it. I wanted to leave it many times, but couldn’t afford to. Looking back, I did exceptionally well in Sales in those ten years. However, that success came with a lack of balance in my personal and professional life. I remember not taking any holidays for three years. I realized that I couldn’t achieve that work-life balance while working for someone else. And so, I decided to start my own company

When I decided to start my company, I was continually pivoting for the first two years. I dabbled with a medical website, computer networking, online software & database business before zeroing on the Real Estate business. In 2015 I sold the Real Estate company that I started and am happily retired now. The advice I give all future entrepreneurs is, expect to pivot, and expect to have a challenge. Listening to the market is critical. You can’t get married to an idea and beat around the bush. It took me two years of constant pivoting to finally get to a successful sixth startup

Today, I am a Speaker and an Advisor to companies, which is another step into the unknown. I just started posting on social media sites, and all of a sudden, people are engaging and liking the content.

One thing I have done through the years is not changing who I am as a person. Often people tell me to get training and coaching to become a better speaker, but that doesn’t resonate with me. I am only comfortable being me.

I will also share that setting long term goals has helped me become successful and financially independent in my endeavors. It’s good to have micro/daily goals, but it’s the macro/long term goals that ensure that you are heading in the right path. As an example, I have already gone through my 2020 calendar, and am now starting to look at 2021. I make sure that the things I am doing tomorrow, next week, or even next month will be the foundation towards what I want to achieve in 2020. Sometimes people tell me that they don’t know what their long term goals are, but I disagree. Deep inside, each one of us knows what we want. Like who do you want to be when you turn 30/40/50/60 and so on. I’m not talking about what car you will drive or the house you will buy; I’m talking about the person you want to be and the lifestyle you want to have.

Having long term goals gives you a sense of direction. Once you are clear about the direction, you can keep pivoting as long as you are heading towards your True North.

Question: What are the top three lessons you learned by venturing into the unknown?

Scotty: Lesson one would be learning Sales since it’s such a lost art today. Selling is not marketing; it’s about how to have conversations to create clients and customers. In other words, a sale is about engaging with someone who’s not a client to then becoming a client. I would highly recommend all entrepreneurs learn about selling.

The second lesson would be a willingness to learn. Even though I wasn’t academically inclined, I read a lot of motivational books. I was open to learning. The knowledge you get is the one thing you continue to take with you regardless of all the adversities in your life. Your knowledge is yours to keep at all times. I have learned to become a good learner, and also become a student of life.

The third lesson would be wealth creation. Because I had modest beginnings, I wanted to create some wealth. I owned two houses at a time and sold one of them to get out of debt. I started to put money in places that had high return potential rather than just buying things to make me feel better, like a newer car or a new house and all those sorts of things that keep your ego going. Once you start making some money, don’t waste it. Put in the things that create wealth.

In conclusion,

• No matter where you are in life, you always can go to that next level, and you’re in control of it. You can do anything you set your eyes on.

I hope you learned valuable lessons from Scotty's sharing. Please make sure to connect with Scotty on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and his website.

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If you struggle with Fear and Failure, then make sure to check out my book on Overcoming Fear and Failure here.