Real estate 101 - creating a life-work balance

Real estate 101 - creating a life-work balance - One of the sad truths about real estate as a profession is that it can consume you. It can take over your life and push loved ones aside like they were yesterdays news. Many agents do not take control of the clients form the beginning and they pay the consequences in  the end.

I meet with agents daily, from my own brokerage as well as others, I love to train and mentor them and I am also trying to grow my company so I am in front of a lot of agents. When I see a productive agent, either through their personal production numbers or from transactions I have had with them I like to sit down with them to see if their might be a fit.

Sadly, today I reached out to an agent I met a couple years ago, a very productive agent that any broker would love to have on their team, she was truly one of the best in the business. I sent a note to her to see if she would like to get together for coffee and her response was "I am leaving real estate, it has taken way too much of my time away from what is really important and that is may family, my marriage has been in shambles for a few years now and I have missed too many of my children's events"

WOW! I really felt for her and I can not tell you how many agents I have met over the years that have gone through exactly the same thing. I do not want a single one of my agents to ever put their business before their family, there are ways to do both. I joke that my boys never knew I worked for the first 10 years I was in the business because I attended every school function, coached every team they played on (if they wanted me to). I was there for breakfast every morning, and still am even though they are now in college, I know they get a little annoyed when I am sitting at the cafeteria waiting for them and their roommates.... okay just kidding there to see if you are still with me.

I believe that you must have a work/life balance and that starts with your priorities. Sit down some time, right now would be great and write out what is the most important thing in your life, write down several things and put them in order of importance and if family is not at the top of the charts then hang on tight because you will be in for a helluva ride.

Each and every week I look at my boys schedules, still, and yes even though they are in college, they are going to a local school here in Denver so they still live at home, and then I plan my schedule accordingly, we have a family dinner every Sunday, we try to have game night or a few friends over every Friday and Saturday and the rest of the week we fill in the blanks, There is a way to do this but you absolutely must set your priorities or you will become another statistic.

I remember when I was searching for a brokerage, one of the managing brokers I interviewed had been married twice and was struggling with his third, all because of the demands of the business if not controlled. DO NOT let it control you, you have rights and your family deserves you to be there for them

So many people get into this industry for this exact reason and then they let it swallow them whole.