Meet Mike Salter | Texas REALTOR®

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mike Salter and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mike, have you ever found yourself in a spot where you had to decide whether to give up or keep going? How did you make the choice?
During these polarizing times where there are seemingly so many things that divide us, one thing that connects us all is the difficulty and pain of the human experience. Life is hard! Regardless of race, color, creed, birth place or financial status, we all go through things that will test our faith and the strength of our spirit. We all at some point consider giving up, whether it be in our professional or personal lives. Or even contemplating on giving up on living life entirely.

I can personally attest to feeling all of the above at one point or another. However, I can say with strong conviction that giving up is never the way to go. I have found that when I have pushed through the most difficult times in my life, there has always been a blessing on the other side. I believe that the pain that comes with not giving up on our goals makes us stronger and helps us to achieve more than we ever thought possible.

I believe that my unique upbringing and background qualifies me to speak on this topic. My mother, and the rest of her Puerto Rican family, are originally from Brooklyn, New York and moved across country to Southern California in the 1970’s. My Father is from Ft Wayne, Indiana and moved out to southern California with his brother in the early 1980’s. Not long after that, my parents met when my father, who was a county social worker, was assigned my mothers and older sister’s case. They had a professional relationship until nearly a decade later, when they became romantically involved and had me.

However, issues on both sides of my family led to a short relationship between my parents and me being separated from them. When I was 2, my mother gave full custody of me to her sister, my aunt Ruth. I wouldn’t have any connection with my mother for the next 15 years. I also had no memory of my father and wouldn’t meet him until I was 21 years old.

Until the age of 18, I was raised by my aunt Ruth. She was a tough, single woman who had hot Puerto Rican blood pulsing through her veins. She did the best she could to raise a young man. I was always fed and clothed and provided for. However, she was very aggressive, had a very short temper, and was physically and verbally abusive until I grew tall and strong enough to physically restrain her from hitting me. She was a disciplinarian and took my schooling very seriously. I still remember our “study sessions” where she would teach me to read, or write, or to do math. There was a lot of yelling, screaming, choking and slapping involved when I didn’t understand something. My aunt’s long natural fingernails would constantly leave me with bruised scratch marks on my arms or neck.

Though I could go on, suffice it to say, I didn’t have the happiest childhood. Things got a little easier when I was about 11 years old. My Aunt Ruth suddenly became very religious. We started attending church and bible study 3 times a week and stopped celebrating holidays and birthdays. I am very grateful for that time, as it helped to lay the moral and spiritual foundation that I have built my life on. It also provided some escape from the verbal and emotional abuse from my Aunt Ruthie that continued despite her church attendance.

When I turned 18, I decided to take control of my own life. With only a duffle bag full of clothes, $2 in my pocket, and a job working graveyard shifts in a warehouse, I left my Aunt Ruth’s house. As I walked away, my aunt told me to never come back or speak to her again. We wouldn’t speak for another 5 years until she was diagnosed with terminal cancer.

With my new found freedom, I focused on advancing my career. I am now a REALTOR based in the North Dallas area with over 10 years of experience in the customer service and sales industry. I have earned multiple awards for service excellence and sales volume. As my professional life progressed, so did my personal life. I developed meaningful relationships with both of my parents. My mom is much healthier now and is a huge part of me and my family’s life. My sons adore their grandma!

I connected with my father, who had since moved back to Ft. Wayne, Indiana, when I was 19 and did my best to make up for lost time over the phone. We spoke almost every day. The 2 times I spent with my father in person were both sad occasions. The deaths and funerals of his older sister and younger brother who lived in Southern California in 2015 and 2016. Unfortunately, in 2017 my father passed away from a sudden brain aneurism. 6 months later, I went to see my Aunt Ruth for the last time as she was being discharged from the hospital. She was going to stay with her other sister, my Aunt Grace until she passed from her cancer. During that visit, we had some closure. As painful as much of my childhood was with my aunt Ruth, her constant focus on my schooling undoubtedly contributed to my ability to be successful professionally. I made sure to thank her for all she had done for me. 2 weeks later, in 2018, my aunt Ruth passed away peacefully in her sleep.

I was devastated. The sudden loss of my father and woman who raised me sent me into a deep depression. This was by far the hardest thing I had ever gone through. I felt like a huge part of myself had died as well. I wanted to give up!

I had managed to overcome a difficult childhood without my parents. I was able to become comfortable in my own skin after struggling as one of only a few biracial kids in my schools. And through hard work, proved my worth in professional settings. I had fought the urge to give up many times before, but this was different. A lifetime of trauma that I worked so hard at suppressing could no longer be held in check. I couldn’t wrap my mind around killing myself, but I vividly remember not wanting to live anymore.

However, I truly believe my wife Samantha and my 2 sons saved my life. They helped me put my loss and trauma in perspective and turn it into fuel. My first-born son was born on the 1-year anniversary of my father’s passing, and I don’t believe in coincidences. My life now revolves around my family and creating a loving, peaceful, happy life for my them.

My life experiences have taught me to never give up. But obviously, that is much easier said than done. I believe that in order to persevere in the darkest times, you must have something beyond yourself to inspire you. For me, that has been my Christian faith, my wife and sons, and my close friends and family.

I love the quote that says, “Religion is for people who are afraid to go to Hell. Spirituality is for people who’ve already been there.”

I do not believe in the traditional belief that Hell is a realm of fire and brimstone. I believe we all go through our own personal Hell in our own mind, soul and spirit. To give up is to make a choice to stay and live in that place. But to persevere, is to make it out of that place more powerful and confident than ever before.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
After 10 years in the customer service and sales industry, I am now a REALTOR® proudly serving the Dallas/Fort Worth area. I grew up constantly hearing about real estate. My aunt Ruth had obtained her real estate license in 2007 but was never able to put it to use due to the recession the following year. But she was still convinced of the potential of working in the real estate industry.

And property ownership and management ran in our family. My aunt Ruth always talked about how her mother, an immigrant from Puerto Rico, purchased and managed 2 apartment buildings and 1 single family home in Brooklyn, New York back in the 1950’s and 60’s. She also purchased a home in Southern California when she moved all 10 of her children to Southern California in the 70’s.

Even during our last conversation in 2018, My Aunt Ruth implored for me to get into real estate just as she had many times in my youth. It wasn’t until 2020 and the Covid-19 pandemic that I decided to transition in Real Estate.

The real estate industry is very competitive and I understand both my inexperience in this particular field and being new to the DFW area make it that much tougher. But what I lack in experience, I make up for in a genuine passion to connect with and help people. Also, I work very closely with my brokerage DHS Realty and Broker Doug Smith, who have decades of real estate experience in the DFW area.

If any one reading this is thinking about buying or selling a home in DFW, it would be an honor and privilege to assist them in their real estate journey!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
This is a tough one, as I am new to DFW. I’ve been the one asking for suggestions! But so far, I’ve really enjoyed going to Spring Creek Barbeque. Their ribs and brisket are amazing! I also have a friend who works for the Texas Rangers who hooked me up with tickets to the last game of their season. Globe Life Park in Arlington is a beautiful baseball park and puts what I’m use to back in California with Dodgers Stadium to shame!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I wouldn’t be where I am today without the love and support of my wife Sam and my sons Nathaniel and Luke. I also have to shout out a few books that have had a huge impact on my life. The Tao of the Wu by The RZA, Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins, and Relentless by Tim Grover.

Website: MikeSalterDFW.com

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