Today we’d like to introduce you to Matt Harris.
Matt, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
It was a cold Tuesday afternoon at 1 pm, December 9th, 1986 at Dallas Presbyterian Hospital… lol JK… but seriously, I am a born and raised Dallas Texan! My brothers and sisters and I are all first-generation Texans (I like to say, “born city, raised country”). Dad’s side of the family is from Arkansas and Mom’s side is from Florida, Alabama and Oklahoma. Dad moved our family here in 1970 when he broke into the starting line up for a little football club called, The Dallas Cowboys. Cliff Harris, changed our families stars forever (pun not intended but it works) where he linked up with the likes of Tom Landry, Roger Staubach, Bob Lilly n Co and enjoyed a ten-year career with the Cowboys, playing in 5 Super Bowls, making a stellar name for himself, recently inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this past February! I used to be insecure about the fame our name brought as a young kid but now, as I’ve grown into my own shoes, I realize how fortunate I am to be blessed with that type of bloodline and grit.
I went to JJ Pearce High School here in Dallas, where I played football (shocker), ran track and had an amazing time, still friends with most of my buddies from back then. After graduating in 2005 from Pearce, I was fortunate enough to go on and earn a scholarship to play football for the Arkansas Razorbacks. After a degree in Communication and good career with the Hogs, I got a shot with the Cleveland Browns, didn’t last long, but the experience was all I was after…
Years after my athletic career ended in 2010. I was in search of a new identity and professional track. Exploring bouts in insurance, college football coaching, car broker and international woodworking deal maker, I landed exactly where I need to be. Real estate… It’s my new sport and can’t get enough of it! Not only real estate but real estate with the man himself, Rogers Healy! He. is. a. GO. GETTER! It’s incredible to relate my life in sports to my now life in business, seeing the correlations along the way of where hard work and good leadership can take you.
Hard work is the easy part, but being great in life takes a little luck and constant direction, that’s where Rogers comes in. He is a no BS type of guy that tells you how it is (which I respond well to), and if you have the ears to hear, you will go far. I officially got licensed in real estate in January of 2018 and joined forces with RHA (Rogers Healy and Associates) in July of 2019 and have already surprised many of my initial goals, big thanks to the gentle push of Rogers himself. It’s rare at a highly successful company when any employee can walk into the bosses office and actually be heard. It’s incredibly invaluable. I can’t stress this enough… Granted, sometimes, what you hear isn’t always what you want, but that’s where growth and opportunity await! (Thanks, Rogers!)
I feel so happy and confident in my professional path and employer that my sweet wife, Katie, is in the final steps of completing her real estate license, creating “TEAM HARRIS!” We are both former college athletes, she playing basketball at Charleston Southern, you DO NOT want to see her on the court! Humbling lol… But, both are very familiar with the meaning of hard work and ready to take Dallas on by storm. We will be celebrating two years of marriage on September 8 of this year and expecting our first child, Baby Beau Jordan, on October 23rd and couldn’t be more excited! One of our favorite sayings is, “if you want to go fast, go alone but if you want to go far, go together!” So here we are world, with encouragement from our friends, family, bosses, mentors and Munger Place Church, we are ready for it all!
Has it been a smooth road?
No road or plan is ever perfect and that’s what makes it’s fun to look back on, overcoming said obstacles. Earning your rightful spot at the top! “A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor.”
My biggest hurdle was finding my identity after sports/college… was I just out here to take the easy road, sell insurance and get rich quick (no)? Or was I meant for something more? I still have that question pop up in my head every now and then but I can confidently say, I am where I need to be and the future is the future. I am no longer worried about finding my professional path and worth. I believe it is one of 3 pillars to finding true peace and prosperity in life.
Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
Real estate is a rare breed because you are your business… working at Rogers Healy and Associates, they not only remind us of that but encourage us to “build our brand.” Aka all the technology and resources in the world are never going to solidify you as a “good agent” so don’t be fooled by those brokerages who depend on that. People do business with people, period. I pride myself on being an extreme networker. I love meeting people, hearing their own personal journeys and what hurdles they themselves have had to clear and how I can use that in my own life. If you’re not learning from your own mistakes in life, or from others, why make them?! When you remove the business out of business, I know that sounds weird, it gives you a chance to humanize your prospects (future friends) and make true connections with people. That’s where it all begins and ends, in my opinion.
Something that sets me apart is that I carry with me a level of competition and resiliency that few people have experienced. Playing football at the highest of levels, taught me two things: you’re not always going to and how are you going to respond after you get kicked in the teeth!? So many people quit and give up because they worked harder and longer hours than their competition yet still lost… boo hoo! Why me?! That’s not fair… yea? Get used to it or get gone! Playing Alabama and LSU year after year taught me, son… you may have worked harder but they worked too and they beat you. What are you going to do about it!?
(FIGURE IT OUT OR GET PASSED BY – Life Truth 101)
I am proud to be apart of a company that is “boutique,” yet we are very well known and compete (and win) against anybody, fearlessly! That’s my kinda style! I love to negotiate because life really isn’t that scary and “loosing” a deal isn’t the end of the world, in fact, it’s the secret to your success. I have a saying, “winning game film is the most dangerous to watch.” Because you think you did everything right and you did nothing wrong, therefore no lessons to be learned, on to the next deal. BE CAREFUL! There is always someone “bigger and better” than you, humble yourself and get better every chance you get… if you’re not, I AM!
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I am so excited to be in the real estate industry during these turbulent times. It’s one of the main reasons I got into this business when I did if history repeats itself, so does our industry analytics and statistics. What gets measured gets done. And I am constantly watching the market, seeing how it is responding to the crisis and comparing that to the history lessons that came before. Again, if we can’t learn from our mistakes, why make them??!
I think we have the greatest opportunity in the next 5-10 years to catapult ourselves forward as an industry, greater than anytime in the past 100 years. It fires me up to think I am on the forefront of the next great boom! Plus, being a somewhat new agent, it’s a level playing field nowadays, and that really keeps me motivated. All the agents that have been in the business for 10-15-20 years, they might as well be beginners because nothing is the same.
Contact Info:
- Website: harrisandhomes.com
- Phone: 214.934.2369
- Email: mattharris@rogershealy.com
- Instagram: @reallifemattharris and @harrisandhomes
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