By SUBRINA HUDSON

Monday, January 27, 2014

Michael Lushing, founder of Beverly Hills retail real estate brokerage Lushing Realty Advisors, always considered himself a people person.

It’s a skill he said has served him well in the 30 years he’s been in the business.

“I learned that the most important part of doing a deal is connecting with the individual that I’m working with,” he said. “I was fortunate that making that connection came easily.”

A few years ago, Lushing, 59, decided to really become a people person. He enrolled at Antioch University Los Angeles, a small liberal arts school in Culver City, to study psychology.

“It was something that had just always intrigued me,” he said. “I wanted to understand more about the mind and what motivates people to do what they do.”

Lushing attended classes on weekends for nearly two years before graduating with his master’s degree in September.

Now, in addition to his real estate work, he’s working as a part-time counselor at Beit T’Shuvah, a Jewish drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility in Culver City. He said his goal is to complete enough hours in the profession by the end of the year to take the state licensing test and become a marriage and family counselor.

But as he works toward that goal, he said he doesn’t plan to lose sight of his real estate work.

“Real estate has been and will continue to be my primary focus,” he said. “But there’s a compassionate side of me that wants to help people with personal life crises.”