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The ONE Thing

504. How to Rebuild Your Life After Losing Everything with Gene Rivers

The ONE Thing

NOVA Media

Entrepreneurship, Business, Careers

4.6 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 12 May 2025

⏱️ 29 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Sometimes the challenges life throws at us are bigger than anything we could have prepared for. In today’s episode, I sit down with my longtime friend Gene Rivers, one of the top instructors and true practitioners of The ONE Thing, to hear the remarkable story of how he and his family survived a devastating hurricane—and what they did next. Gene shares what life was like before the hurricane hit, how they made the leap from corporate careers into real estate, and what happened when they lost everything overnight. He walks us through the mindset shift that allowed them not just to rebuild but to aim even higher than before. Their story is a real-world example of what it looks like to face reality head-on, focus on what matters most, and turn clarity into action. We talk about how Gene and Rebecca rebuilt their real estate business from a garage, the simple but powerful strategy that fueled their growth, and why building relationships—not just making sales—was the real secret to their success. We also explore how the clarity they found during hard times helped them create a life centered around family, growth, and experiences worth sharing. If you've ever wondered how to stay focused when the world around you feels uncertain, this episode is for you. Gene’s story is a reminder that no matter where you're starting from—or starting over—you always have the power to take the next right step. Challenge of the Week: Take five minutes each morning this week to sit quietly, without your phone or distractions, and reflect on what’s most important for your day. Ask yourself: What’s the one thing I can do today that would make everything else easier or unnecessary? See if that simple practice starts to shift your focus and energy. *** To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit: the1thing.com/pods. We talk about: How Gene and Rebecca rebuilt their business after losing everything in Hurricane Andrew Why talking to people about real estate everywhere they went became their winning strategy How staying grounded in family and clarity helped them build an extraordinary life Links & Tools from This Episode: Connect with Gene at GeneRivers.info Free Resources Want to be a guest or share feedback? Email [email protected] or send us an audio note at Speakpipe.com/the1thing. Produced by NOVA  WARNING! You must comply with the TCPA and any other federal, state or local laws, including for B2B calls and texts. Never call or text a number on any Do Not Call list, and do not use an autodialer or artificial voice or prerecorded messages without proper consent. Contact your attorney to ensure your compliance. This podcast is for general informational purposes only. The views, thoughts, and opinions of the guests represent those of the guests and not ProduKtive or Keller Williams Realty LLC and their affiliates, and should not be construed as financial, economic, legal, tax or other advice. This podcast is provided without any warranty or guarantee of its accuracy, completeness, timeliness, or results from using the information.

Transcript

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0:00.0

This week, we're talking to Gene Rivers. Gene is not only one of my friends, but he's also a business

0:05.8

associate, and he's been living the one thing for over a decade. He was one of our top instructors.

0:11.5

We would send him into Fortune 50 companies all over North America to teach the concepts in this

0:16.8

book, because not only is he a great instructor, he's living him at a high level. So this episode

0:22.9

is less about what specific lessons from the one thing are we going to learn. I think we get to learn

0:28.4

from hearing about the life of one of our practice leaders, Gene Rivers, someone who lives

0:32.3

this book at a high level in business and in life and hearing how he's dealt with the challenges

0:37.2

that he's faced in his

0:38.8

career. Just as a tiny little tease, he survived a horrible hurricane, 36 hours. He's in his house

0:45.7

with his family for like over 10 hours. He's in the bathroom in the eye of the hurricane with

0:50.3

his family. And they survived, but they lost everything in the process. They had to

0:55.0

rebuild. How would you face a challenge like that? How does someone who lives the one thing face

0:59.8

a challenge like that? But one thing, they get into action. Check it out. This is a great episode and a

1:04.6

great story from my friend, Gene Rivers. I'm Jay Papazan, and this is the One Thing, your weekly

1:09.8

guide to the simple steps that lead to extraordinary results.

1:25.2

All right, Gene, I'm so happy to have you back on the show.

1:27.4

I'm glad to be here.

1:29.1

You know, when we look back, some of your earlier shows where I remember we did our

1:32.8

original top 10, around 250 episodes, but that was like in the top 10 because, like,

1:39.0

there are a few people that are in my world who both live and speak to the book as well as you do. So thank you for joining

1:46.7

us because I know people are going to love this, no pressure. No pressure at all, but where's my royalty

1:50.5

jet? Yeah. There we go. We were chatting. When you think about kind of your journey with the one thing,

...

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