It has been two months since I stepped away from being a full-time real estate agent to pursue other paths. When you have done something for 25 years, making that kind of change feels strange.
Real Estate is a high alert business. Although more positive than war, it may be the same adrenalin rush. You work with people you love and you save each other’s lives on a daily basis. Somewhere out there you hear the bombs of the changes in the market, the banking regulations, the financial uncertainty. It is always at your door. You get close to the front lines and you back away. You are in the midst of chaos and you ar
e in a safe place. You always hear the bombs, even when you are safe. You hear it in the media, in your client’s voice, in your own head.
Leaving the business does not mean I abandon my clients. I have referred them to agents whom I feel will best serve them. These referrals help my clients, they are not tumbling into the unknown to choose an agent, and they help me with a little, temporary “military pension”. For a time I suffered intensely from post-traumatic stress, missing the people more than I can express, missing the “smell of napalm in the morning”. Little by little the PTS is going away and I am left with a joy that I have helped my friends and clients for 25 years and that I can continue to help them, even as I move in a new direction.