DeAnn Golden says her motto in business is the same as it is in her personal life: “You will not have any one singular moment ever again, so make each memorable.”

Golden, senior vice president of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Georgia Properties, has achieved a high level of success in real estate, despite having to overcome significant personal challenges. She was the 2019 president of the Atlanta REALTORS® Association, helping the organization to surpass 10,000 members. As SVP of her brokerage, she takes a hands-on role in mentoring agents to be the best they can be.

Here, Golden provides insights into what it means to be an RISMedia Real Estate Newsmaker—individuals who are recognized for their positive contributions to the real estate industry—as well as how individuals can inspire change in others and how to push forward despite facing devastating challenges.

We call our Newsmaker Inspirations “The Big-Hearted and Brave.” What would you say it means to be an inspiration in the real estate industry?
DeAnn Golden: In order to big-hearted and brave, you cannot be afraid of being authentic, vulnerable or even failing. We are all human. We all have ups and downs in life, personally and professionally. Zig Ziglar said it best: “It’s not how far you fall, but how high you bounce that counts.”

We all have stories filled with love, loss, happiness and sadness…and we have the opportunity for new chapters to be written through it all. For every tough journey any of us may traverse, there are many more facing far tougher ones. We must all be willing to be real—real in real estate and real in real life!

What does your motto mean to you, and how does it trickle down into everything you do?
DG: With that mindset, each moment becomes meaningful, each interaction significant—every chance to learn and grow is treasured. Each person in your life has importance and value. Cherish every opportunity to interact with others and strive to make a lasting impact in the world around you. If I can live by this, then my hope is I will be able to have a positive ripple effect in not only my life, but the lives of others. My children and I affectionately refer to them as making #goldenmoments!

How does that transfer into knocking down challenges you’ve faced?
DG: I have faced numerous situations in my personal and professional life that required bravery when I didn’t think I could be brave, and ultimately required a heart-centered solution when my heart was broken. If you apply heart-centered bravery to life’s biggest challenges, even the unsurmountable can be navigated. We must bravely apply a trusting and heart-centric mindfulness to whatever it is that life brings our way and try to find a way to keep taking steps forward.

It’s not always easy—trust me. I never dreamed as I was trying to grow a career and raise our sweet family that I would be sitting here, at 49 years old, having to accept “I am a widower. I lost the love of my life. I am a single working parent. My children lost their father. He’s never coming back. We have massive difficult financial setbacks. Will we be okay tomorrow?” It’s tough to say those words, but I can’t change these facts. Instead, I focus on how many people Tony Golden, my husband, touched (including us), and how he enriched others with the treasure of his time while we had him.

I will never forget my husband telling me, as he lay in hospice, to “Rise up every day and live life out loud!” I have a big task ahead, but when I lay my head down at night, the task for the day is a simple one: Did I live the day out loud for him too, and did I make the day memorable in a positive way for others in our lives?

We talk about being agent-centric or broker-centric. Let’s all give consideration to being more heart-centric in life and in general when helping guide people home to the American Dream. The experience will be one our clients and the consumer will love and respect all the more!

How do you inspire industry professionals to better serve consumers?
DG: The consumer real estate experience is of the utmost importance to our industry, especially now. It needs to be improved and that will require change, and that change will need to originate from true industry leaders. I have never feared change because it’s inevitable. I know that it will happen with or without our industry, so we must make it our No. 1 objective to bravely lead such change.

What is the industry lacking, and how can agents and brokers inspire change?
DG: Our industry needs more next-gen leaders being mentored and coached now! We need upcoming leaders, we need diversity represented and we need real people with a passion for real estate to be better prepared.

We have iconic leaders with vast experience, but if they aren’t here one day to turn to, what will we do? I say that only as someone who thought her beloved husband would be here to turn to for always, but life will happen regardless. I learned the hard way, so we must anticipate it.

So, if you have a true desire to help people and help ensure that our role as the guide in the real estate transaction is preserved, step up! Raise your hand now to someone leading in your company or to an RISMedia Newsmaker! Let them know you want to grow and, in turn, share with others what has been shared with you.

Show respect, be considerate, be humble, set an example, act with an open heart and find ways to make a difference. The true sign of an inspirational leader is simply to pause and turn around and see if anyone is following you.

To view Golden’s 2020 Newsmaker profile and those of all the other honorees this year, visit RISMedia.com/2020-Newsmakers.

Liz Dominguez is RISMedia’s senior editor. Email her your real estate news ideas at ldominguez@rismedia.com.