When the Bus Feels Like It’s Driving You
I’ve been reading a lot of Jon Gordon lately. If I’m honest, I think I’ve read almost everything he’s written. Right now, I’m working through The 7 Commitments of a Great Team, and as I read, I keep noticing how often his messages weave back to the same themes — ownership, energy, gratitude, responsibility.
Themes that feel especially relevant in real estate.
This profession has a way of humbling you.
There are long stretches where you feel like you’re doing everything right — showing up, working hard, pouring into people — and still seeing very little return. You look around and watch others seemingly sail through deal after deal while you’re grinding quietly in the background. Comparison creeps in. Doubt follows close behind. You start asking yourself what you’re missing, what you’re doing wrong, or whether you chose the right path at all.
If you’re not careful, bitterness and frustration can take root. And when that happens, this job can eat you alive.
What people don’t always realize about real estate is that it’s not just a job — it’s a life choice. I didn’t fully understand that when I started. I was a teacher for sixteen years and came into real estate thinking it would be a side hustle. Sell a few houses, work harder in the summers, bring in extra income to help our family move forward.
What I didn’t understand then was the weight of the pipeline. There are no true days off. No holidays where your phone doesn’t matter. You work when your clients aren’t working. And when you stop tending to that pipeline — even briefly — momentum dries up fast. Rebuilding it takes twice as long.
Last year was a hard one for me.
I went from a strong start in my first six months as an agent, to several solid years, and then back down again. I was distracted. Pulled in too many directions. Focused on things other than simply doing the work in front of me. My income took a hit. I leaned on credit more than I ever had before. And slowly, I lost the joy that had drawn me to this profession in the first place.
Worse than that, I noticed a shift in myself. I became commission-focused instead of people-focused. That’s not who I am. And realizing that was sobering.
Every December, I take time to reflect on the year — what went well and what didn’t. As I sat at my desk, surrounded by goals, quotes, reminders, and pictures of my purpose, one line stopped me cold:
You are the driver of your own bus.
It felt like hitting a wall.
That year hadn’t happened to me. I had participated in it. The market wasn’t the villain. My choices mattered more than I wanted to admit. And strangely, that realization didn’t feel heavy — it felt freeing.
Gratitude followed almost immediately.
Gratitude that I wasn’t stuck. Gratitude that awareness gave me a choice. Gratitude that the next year didn’t have to look like the last one.
Instead of setting goals rooted in numbers and outcomes, I shifted my focus to effort, decisions, and daily discipline. I committed to protecting my focus. To affirming myself daily. To choosing positivity even when it felt inconvenient.
Living a positive life isn’t easy. It requires intention. It requires ownership. But it also has the power to change everything — sometimes in ways you never imagined.
