When you have the opportunity to ask some of the most interesting people in the world about their lives, sometimes the most fascinating answers come from the simplest questions. The Thrive Questionnaire is an ongoing series that gives an intimate look inside the lives of some of the world’s most successful people.
Thrive Global: What’s the first thing you do when you get out of bed?
Tami Halton Pardee: The first thing I do in the morning is take ten deep breaths and just breathe, and then I write in my gratitude journal for the day.
TG: What gives you energy?
THP: Laughter and playfulness– I love being around playful people. Positive people, in general, give me energy.
TG: What’s your secret life hack?
THP: Technology is probably my secret life hack!
TG: Name a book that changed your life.
THP: I like the quote book Brave Enough by Cheryl Strayed – I look at it every day as a quick way to have an inspiring quote for the day. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho is amazing and definitely changed my life.
TG: Tell us about your relationship with your phone. Does it sleep with you?
THP: No- I put my phone to bed every night!
TG: How do you deal with email?
THP: I don’t deal with e-mail very well!
TG: You unexpectedly find 15 minutes in your day, what do you do with it?
THP: I go for a walk or dance to music or just be by myself.
TG: When was the last time you felt burned out and why?
THP: A few weeks ago I did too much in a day – I need time for myself, like 20 minutes a day to just be in my own self and in my own body. I had an 18 hour day and did too much and didn’t give myself a break or make enough time for myself.
TG: When was the last time you felt you failed and how did you overcome it?
THP: Last time I felt like I failed was when I made a mistake on a deal and I felt like I let a friend of mine down on it – I addressed it, apologized, learned from, I cleaned it up and moved on.
TG: Share a quote that you love and that gives you strength or peace.
THP: “There are three kinds of people – the people that talk about things, the people that talk about people or the people that talk about ideas.” I always want to be in that third camp. I always remember this quote when I’m with people to make sure that people that are in my tribe are the type of people that talk about ideas and are inspired. I want to be around inspired, lovable, playful fun people.
Currently ranked the #1 real estate broker in Los Angeles, Tami Halton Pardee is the founder and principal broker of Halton Pardee +Partners, a company that has sold over $2 billion worth of residential and commercial real estate and ranked as the number two team in the US by Real Trends. Tami was nominated for Philanthropist of the Year by the Los Angeles Business Journal for her Life-Changer Program, which empowers the transformation of lives and communities by active participation and significant financial contributions to local charities including Teen Project, Harvest Home, Homeless Task Force, Venice Community Housing Corporation and more. She was also recognized as part of Good Housekeeping magazine’s 2016 Awesome Women honors. Tami battles multiple sclerosis (MS) but she won’t let that (or anything else) stop her. In addition to her work and philanthropy, she is busy raising her four children.