# 806: From the Cage to Icon: Building a Real Estate Business With a Fighter's Mindset with Sarah Howell

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/john-kitchens-coach-podcast-experience-5249454/806-from-the-cage-to-icon-building-a-real-estate-business-with-a-fighter-s-mindset-with-sarah-howell
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/john-kitchens-coach-podcast-experience-5249454/806-from-the-cage-to-icon-building-a-real-estate-business-with-a-fighter-s-mindset-with-sarah-howell.md
Podcast: [John Kitchens Coach Podcast Experience](https://stenobird.com/podcast/john-kitchens-coach-podcast-experience-5249454)
Published: 2026-08-18T15:34:49+00:00
Episode link: https://johnkitchenscoachpodcast.substack.com/p/from-the-cage-to-icon-building-a
Audio file: https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/211725073/1528521f0f90cbe8990ca901eb0d4670.mp3
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Duration seconds: 3341

## Resource

What happens when you take twenty years of fight-camp discipline and point it at real estate? On this episode, I sit down with Sarah Howell, a former professional MMA fighter who spent two decades in the fitness industry before walking into real estate and hitting Icon status at eXp in her very first year, then landing in the top 1% nationwide with Veterans United in 2025. Sarah didn’t leave her old life behind. She brought all of it with her: the training, the discipline, the ability to perform under pressure. We talk about the identity crisis she didn’t see coming when she shut down her own gym, how a “one house a month” goal turned into $16.3 million in year one, and the mindset shift from fighting to win to negotiating to a middle ground. If you lead a team and want a masterclass in discipline, consistency, and finding a deeper reason to do the work, this one is for you. Key Topics Covered: * Why the jump from professional fighting to real estate wasn’t as extreme as it sounds * The identity crisis Sarah didn’t expect when she closed her MMA gym after eight-plus years * Turning a modest “one house a month” goal into $16.3 million in her first year * The daily discipline and time-blocking system behind her 80 percent consistency rule * Her “80 percent everywhere beats 100 percent at one thing” philosophy, borrowed straight from the cage * The shift from a win-lose fighter mentality to win-win negotiation * Outcome over ego: getting it right versus being right * How a chance encounter led to her Veterans United origin story and a shift from dollar goals to a “families served” goal * A lesson from her late father on never burning bridges * What agents get wrong about serving veteran and VA loan clients “ I don’t think anybody really gets into real estate and succeeds.…

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