What separates those who simply participate in the market from those who truly win in it?
In this episode, we dive into the mindset, grit, and discipline required to thrive at the highest levels of real estate and entrepreneurship with Athena Brownson—a powerhouse REALTOR® who blends local expertise, strategic vision, and relentless work ethic.
Athena’s journey is rooted in more than transactions. Raised in Colorado within a family deeply connected to real estate development, building, and design, she learned early that success isn’t accidental—it’s engineered. In today’s conversation, we unpack what it really takes to build trust at scale, navigate shifting markets, and operate with the long-term mindset typically found among top performers and billion-dollar thinkers.
Whether you’re an investor, entrepreneur, or real estate professional, this episode explores how grit, preparation, and vision compound over time—and why mindset is often the most valuable asset in any portfolio.
Episode Highlights Here:
Brett
Before we jump into this episode, I want to invite you to join our community to help you become a better steward scale to billions and ultimately give more or all of it away. All I want you to do is to click the subscribe button right now. I love your support. It’s incredible to see your comments, and we’re just getting started. I can’t wait to go on this journey with you. Thank you so much for subscribing. It means the world to me. Hello everybody, and welcome to the build to billions podcast where we got successful entrepreneurs and investors on their journey from millions to billions. We believe the key to scaling and compounding your wealth and life start every single day with a mindset and practice of stewardship over ownership and applying billionaire biblical principles. Our ultimate goal is to have you scale and compound your wealth and life so you can give more all of a way to help. MVPs, I’m Brett Swarts. I’m your host today, and I’m excited because each and every episode, we’re bringing on some of the top entrepreneurs, millionaires and billionaires, where they share their secrets and wisdom with us, so we can all level up on every area of life. I’m excited about our next guest. She is originally from Breckenridge, Colorado. She’s now in the Denver area, and she’s going to focus today on helping us to thrive through adversity professional skier at one point and like really neat stuff into the real estate world, and helping people build wealth there too, and so much more. Please. Welcome to the show with me. Athena Brownson, how are we doing?
Athena
Brett couldn’t be better. So happy to be here with you today. So, thank you for having me, and I’m just excited to get to that billionaire point that you’re talking about. Let’s go. So, tell us.
Brett
So, to start us off, a little bit more about your story and your focus, and of course, include the professional skiing thing that’s so interesting.
Athena
Yes. So that’s absolutely a pivotal point in getting me to where I am today, as I think we all can lookback at our lives and see how different points of adversity, different challenges, different, you know, triumphs all create us to be where we are, and it all ends up working the way it’s supposed to, you know, I think God laughs when we when we say we have a plan for life, because he has a better plan. So, I’ve learned that the hard way. But no, I was born and raised Amen, right? I was born and raised in Breckenridge, Colorado, small mountain community. My father was a professional skier and a developer, and my mother was an artist and an interior designer, so he might my younger years, I pretty much followed him on the road through his athletics and on his job sites. I was constantly walking job sites. He built about 150 luxury homes in Breckenridge, and my mom did all the design for those. But what, where my true passion was, was in skiing, and something I’ve learned about myself, you know, in retrospect, is truly that when I find a why, when I’m passionate about something, I really put myall into it, and that was the case with skiing. I went pro when I was 15 years old and was able to travel the world. Skied about 300 days a year, and had some of the top coaches in the entire world, you know, as my leaders and as my mentors, and when I look back at where I am today in terms of business, I look at the principles that I learned as an athlete and as a skier and the ability that it’s given me to have resilience and to overcome adversity, because In that skiing career, you know, I blew nine knees. I broke my neck a couple of times. I pretty much broke every body part that you could, um, and, you know, it really taught me that you still have to show up, you have to you have to put the work in. And if you’re, if you if it’s something that you’re passionate about, no matter how many times you fall on your face or blow a knee, if you continue to show up and put the work in and you have the right tribe around you, you have the right people around you, they’re help helping you be the best you can be in anything, then You’re going to get over whatever adversity that is. So skiing, for me was probably the best business school you could imagine. It also taught me, you know, discipline and accountability, like, if I didn’t show up on time, then I wasn’t taking the chairlift. I was going to hike the mountain. I had very, very strict coaches, and I didn’t appreciate it at the time.
Brett
So, if you like this little, short clip of the interview I just did, click over here to watch the full interview, and please don’t forget to subscribe. Thanks so much, everybody.
Watch the episode here:
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About Athena Brownson
Athena Brownson is a Colorado native and seasoned REALTOR® with nearly a decade of experience serving clients across the Denver metro area and surrounding communities. With a deep-rooted connection to the region and a refined negotiation skillset, Athena is known for advocating fiercely on behalf of her clients while delivering a seamless, stress-free real estate experience grounded in integrity, responsiveness, and trust.
With a background in interior design, Athena brings a trained eye for aesthetics and potential, helping clients uncover hidden value and envision what’s possible in every property. Her passion, professionalism, and client-first approach have earned her industry recognition and a reputation as a trusted name in Colorado real estate.
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