Name: Brad Leavitt
Age: 38
Title: President of AFT Construction
Married/Single: happily married
Kids: 6 kids. Between running a business and having a large family, I’ve learned that sleep is overrated 🙂 We have 5 girls and 1 boy. Our boy is #5 of 6 and 3 years old. Our daughters are 15 (soon to be driving), 13, 10, 5 and 1. Never a dull moment at the Leavitt Household!
City you live in: Gilbert. I commute every day to North Scottsdale. Our office is in the airpark and nearly all of our projects are in Scottsdale. Our family loves Gilbert and our kids won’t leave their friends.
A typical day in my life includes…
an early rise, work, gym, social media, our kids (homework, school, activities, sports, carpooling), commute, basketball, networking, family dinner, meditation, reading, Sudoku puzzles, Kakuro puzzles, date night, traveling, podcasts, golf, all in a different order each day 😉 Not much time for a breath of fresh air but when I do have a minute, you may find me watching an episode of The Office or Arrested Development. Love to laugh!
I was born…
in San Diego. I love to surf and although I miss that beach weather, AZ is home.
My favorite thing about Arizona…
the sun! I love the heat. I never thought I would love AZ this much moving here when I was 25 from San Diego, but everything is here or at least nearby. We love to swim, play golf, and exercise. And I love building in AZ; we have the opportunity to build so many different styles of homes. Makes every day and every project different, and a challenge.
I’m listening to…
some podcast. Malcom Gladwell – Revisionist History, Dan Patrick, The Herd, Protractor Podcast, the Modern Craftsman.
My family…
is lovable, and organized chaos! As I mentioned above, there is never a dull moment. Two kids are still at home and the other four are all at different schools with different hours. Despite all of the extracurricular activities and interests, we love our family time at the dinner table to share daily “highs and lows”. It’s a time when everyone in the family can share their high and low from that day.
If I could have dinner with anyone, it would be…
my wife for date night! I would have also really enjoyed the opportunity to sit down and speak with Viktor Frankl who survived the Holocaust and wrote “Man’s search for meaning”. And then of course the greatest QB of all time, Tom Brady.
One thing I cannot live without…
my freedom, although my family might say “social media”. I have been fortunate to live in other places and countries and compare to the States. I am very grateful for the opportunities and flexibilities we have in our country.
When I was younger, I wanted to be…
a professional athlete. I dreamed of playing in the NBA or NFL. My height and size just weren’t in the cards, among other reasons 🙂
I’m inspired by…
courage. I think most people lack it these days. It is rare to have conviction. I highly admire students and adults that stand for good, especially in regard to bullying, whether physical or cyber.
The one person who motivates me is…
my wife. She is my biggest supporter and enthusiast. She encourages me to be the best I can and has really given great insight to grow our company through social media and networking.
If I could change anything in the world, it would be…
less greed. Capitalism is great without the greed. If all of us would serve each other a bit more and make every place better because we were there, so much in our world would change.
The perfect day would be…
vacationing with my family. We definitely have the travel bug and love to explore new cultures and places.
My first job was…
working as an electrician with my uncles. I didn’t realize how fortunate I was to work on multi-million dollar homes on Coronado Island in San Diego throughout and after high school. It was eye opening and such a great experience.
My favorite escape…
basketball. I love the camaraderie and competition. It’s a great stress reliever.
My life…
is never boring. There is always a task to be done or project to be addressed. I am a checklist person; it is never-ending and continually growing.
I’m currently working on…
some incredible new projects for AFT. We have some flagship opportunities that will continue to challenge our growth and venture. It is very exciting!
Always…
be grateful. This was taught to me by my parents at a young age and has always stuck with me. Gratitude is the key to success and happiness.
Never…
forget those that have helped you along the way. We are all a product of those with whom we associate.
Favorite Quote…
“Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” – Mike Tyson
Biggest Dream…
to parent our children to be grateful and instill in them the ability to work hard. Nothing in this life is given and both hard and focused work can solve a lot of our own problems, and happiness. I had a mentor that would always tell me that he made his own luck through hard and diligent work.
My Pet Peeve(s)…
slow internet and tardiness. Time is everything and with schedules so tightly compacted, the internet must perform and meetings must begin promptly.
