Although only 16, I vividly remember the night we boarded our plane to escape the Soviet Union. I can still feel the fear in the pit of my stomach as the minutes ticked by before take-off and the immense relief as we landed safely in Detroit, Michigan. The year was 1991, and my relief at arriving in America was soon replaced by the realities of poverty, language barrier, and the pain of being different in a strange land. If you had asked me at the time if I thought I’d one day become one of the top residential financiers in the world, a sports and celebrity manager, best-selling author, and entrepreneur whose company would grow into one of the largest lenders in America -- I know I would have laughed at you.

 

Against all odds, I entered the banking industry during challenging times and through persistence and determination climbed to the pinnacle of my profession. Looking back, it’s amazing to think how far I’ve come and how much I’ve benefited from the priceless lessons learned along the way. It is those lessons - my secrets - that kept me among the top mortgage professionals in America for over a decade and helped me achieve more than $3 billion in personal career sales. They’re also the reason I had an incredible urge to share my story with the world.

 

I am so glad I did, because the most rewarding part of all is the response I received from the people whose careers and lives were changed by reading The ABC of Sales, Lessons from a Superstar. Of course I love that the book became an internationally award-winning bestseller. Seeing the impact I have had on others by sharing my story and sales secrets motivated me to write a second book, another bestseller, 17 Cents & a Dream, and then a third, Street Smart Selling. It has been deeply rewarding to hear how my readers have applied my lessons and achieved their own success as a result. Now I’ve come to realize this isn’t just my story anymore. It’s our story, a shared and ongoing inspirational journey among friends. We, who have had the great fortune to succeed, should be called to mentor and inspire others to rise up and seize their dreams. With that in mind, you'll find captivating tales of my enlightening experiences in all of my books, which are readily accessible across the globe today!