Real estate broker turned motivational speaker Ken DeLeon adapts to change effectively and seamlessly.
Ken DeLeon is an accomplished motivational speaker and real estate broker known for his sunny optimism. Photo credit: Tracy Easton
After surviving a near-fatal car accident and two bouts of cancer, real estate broker and motivational speaker Ken DeLeon experienced epiphanies that transformed his perspective on life. “There’s a lot of value to hardship,” DeLeon says. “It’s kind of a reset but also a launching pad to assemble your rocket ship to soar even higher. There are no negatives to being positive and no positives to being negative.” He firmly believes that his hardships, which forced him to pivot in his life and career, have made him stronger, more resilient and more confident.
DeLeon approaches each day with a smile and his mantra, “How do I live a life so great that I do not fear death?” He understands the freedom that comes with facing your fears and living life with no regrets. “Not taking anything for granted just motivates me to achieve the most and without fearing setbacks, to be able to take a lot of calculated risks and just live life to the fullest because I'm lucky to be here,” DeLeon says.
When DeLeon was an economics undergraduate student, he learned that most people are risk-averse, so those who boldly take calculated risks are typically rewarded. This struck a chord with the young scholar as his viewpoint on life had shifted in a big way following the recent loss of his sister. She had lost her battle with depression to suicide just a few years before. DeLeon realized she let others interfere in her journey, rather than betting on herself and taking the chances she felt passionately about. He set out to honor his sister’s memory by living an extraordinary life filled with bold choices using the lessons he’d learned from her.
“Losing her made me not care what people thought about me because her fatal flaw was letting other people define her happiness. I said, ‘I’m not going to let anyone define mine,’ and that really set me free,” DeLeon explains. “When you’re not beholden to others, that’s when life really begins.”
After achieving his law degree at Berkeley and a position at Silicon Valley’s top law firm, he diverted his aspirations toward real estate. Trading in the monotonous yet stable legal work for the everchanging real estate industry energized him.
Helping Silicon Valley’s brilliant minds find their perfect home inspired DeLeon, as did building a business that was uniquely his own. He exceeds the duties of a typical real estate agent by providing financial and legal insight, utilizing his rich background in both, and connecting clients with vetted specialists who can remodel and improve the home throughout its life cycle.
Explore DeLeon’s expertise in pivoting as he chats with Silicon Valley editor-in-chief Michael McCarthy in the fourth installment of this ongoing series.
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