It’s not easy.

I didn’t always know how to take a break from my business.

My first year in real estate I tried to take a vacation with extended family that was planned for almost a year, but left a couple days late so I could show some houses to a buyer, then came home a few days early to show that same buyer more houses. (Spoiler Alert: They never bought anything). That was 18 years ago.

After that, I would take 1 week a year. Seven days out of 365 that I stayed (mostly) away from my phone and tried to connect (re-connect) with my family. Cramming 365 days worth into 7 to try to make up for the other 358.

Over time, I’ve learned to do more. Take 1 day off each week (gasp!) where I don’t take client appointments (but still glued to the phone and email). Instead of 1 week of vacation, 2. Then 3. I’ve learned to do more, by doing less. My breaks have grown, and so has my business.

It’s a work in progress. I’m a work in progress. I bet you are too.

This work is hard. You have to stay focused on the big picture of what you want from your business, otherwise you will try to turn and run when the challenges hit (And they will. Over and over and over again.) You have to want to grow and improve and build and serve MORE than you want to be comfortable. More than you want to avoid conflict. More than you want to avoid feeling anxious.

The challenges don’t go away, but you get better at managing them. The toxic clients don’t go away, but you get better at avoiding them.

I can teach this and talk about this until I’m blue in the face (and trust me, I have), but the only way to really learn it is by doing.

Do the hard thing. Make the tough call. Stand up for yourself and what you know. Don’t let anyone cause you to second guess what you already know in your heart to be true … that you are strong, that you are capable, that you are worthy of growing a big business with a lot of living and enjoying life too, and hopefully with some sea air and ocean waves sprinkled throughout. 🌊