Episode 45: The Working REALTOR®: Finding Balance

REAL TIME Podcast

For all its opportunities, a career in real estate can be demanding.

Continuing our Working REALTOR® series, this episode highlights the importance of finding balance, not just for your health but to reconcile your hard work with a sense of purpose and fulfillment.
Hear from three members of the REALTOR® community who’ve made it their mission to find balance: Crystal Hung, a 2023 Canadian REALTORS Care® Award nominee and the owner of Icon&co.; Peggy Hill, broker and CEO at the Peggy Hill Team; and Darin Germyn, a REALTOR® and leader of the Germyn Group and Director-at-Large with the Canadian Real Estate Association.

Transcript

Erin Davis: This is REAL TIME, the podcast for and about REALTORS®, brought to you by CREA, the Canadian Real Estate Association. I'm Erin Davis, proud to be your host, and I'm so glad you're here because we've got a great conversation for you today in Episode 45. For all its opportunities, working in real estate comes with its share of demands, from long hours to quick turnarounds. Continuing our Working REALTOR® series, this episode highlights the importance of finding balance, not just for the sake of your health, but to reconcile your hard work with a sense of purpose and fulfillment.

You're going to hear advice and insight from three members of the REALTOR® community who have made it their mission to find balance: Crystal Hung, a 2023 Canadian REALTORS Care® Award nominee and the owner of Icon & Co, Peggy Hill, broker and CEO at the Peggy Hill team, and Darin Germyn, a REALTOR® with The Germyn Group and Director-at-Large with the Canadian Real Estate Association.

Welcome to REAL TIME, everyone. We're so thrilled to have you with us this month. We're going to start with a quick round of introductions, who you are, where you're from, and what drew you to working in real estate. We're going to start out, let's start in the east and with Peggy. Hi, Peggy.

Peggy Hill: I'm Peggy Hill. I am located in Barrie, Ontario, in Simcoe County. I have a small team of 60 REALTORS® that I run here. What drew me to real estate initially was that someone lied to me and told me that it's flexible hours and I can make a lot of money doing very little.

Erin: All right. We'll find out what version of the truth that turned into as time went on. Crystal, tell us about yourself.

Crystal Hung: Hello, everyone. I am Crystal Hung. I am from the beautiful British Columbia. I work in the Greater Vancouver market. What drew me to real estate was really a love for architecture and design and business. I grew up with an architect father and my mom was a chef. Between those two professions, I found real estate.

Erin: Here you are owning three brokerages. Wow. What a story. Darin, what's your story?

Darin Germyn: I'm down in beautiful Surrey, British Columbia. Like many, I had a father who was in real estate. Coming from the restaurant industry, came home one day, and he was in the kitchen making lunch and dressed really nice. I had recognized he was on the phone, he had freedom of time, a professional industry, social industry, and just was really intrigued by that. I decided I would, like so many, give it a try and see what happened.

Erin: I think we can all agree there's a unique brand of work ethic that is required in this profession. The question for you all and each of you, what strategies have helped you work smarter, not harder, when you're starting to feel the burn? We will begin with you, please, Crystal.

Crystal: Strategies. I think it's about knowing your constraints. Like any other business, any stores, there is a limited time of which the business is open. As a REALTOR®, as much as we like to be on the go 24/7, we really can't do that. Having a constraint and knowing what makes you happy was really one of the first things I did in my first year. I looked at who I was working with. I drew smiley faces when they made me happy. From that, I really found what was really making me happy and eliminated what was not making me happy.

There's lots of things that don't make us happy. Don't get me wrong. It's just really having the ability to track where things are at and having a conversation with yourself. I think over time, you just find balance and merge your lifestyle with your work.

Erin: Through something as simple as your homemade emojis, you were able to determine that running the business aspect was really what fulfilled Crystal. Am I right?

Crystal: Yes. Very early on, I realized there was this consistency in my business, which was I was really good at doing commercial deals. I was really good with developers. I love talking to my managing brokers and would go up to them and say certain things are not working. I was really drawn to the operational side of things. I think it enabled me to look at real estate as a career holistically. and find my niche in what I do now. It started with the smiley faces.

Erin: Very good. Peggy, what strategies helped you work smarter, not harder, when you're starting to feel the burn?

Peggy: I think in the beginning of my career, I think, like most people, we just work. There's no harder, smarter. There's nothing. We just work. I think the longer you're in this business, the more you learn, and you realize that there are certain aspects of the business that you're not great at and that other people can help you with. However, I think that comes with time, and it comes with patience, and it comes with money to be able to hire the right people to help you.

In the beginning, I honestly don't think I had a lot of balance. I think I was just doing it all and terrified to say no because it was the beginning of my career. Then, I met the right people, I got the right admin staff, I had buyers’ agents that helped me control my time and open windows for me. I think that's where the balance came in after, but it wasn't in the early days, I'll tell you that.

Erin: I found it interesting in learning about you too, Peggy, is that like Darin, you came from a restaurant industry. We know Crystal is steeped in architecture, which of course is a beautiful segue into real estate. You started out in the restaurant business, which can be extremely difficult, and then you segued into real estate. That must have been a really big change for you. All of a sudden, it feels like you're making money, and it's hard to pull back from that.

Peggy: It's very difficult when you're making money because restaurant businesses are not always lucrative. They teach you how to work hard, for sure. However, I got into real estate, and all of a sudden, I'm getting paid for my time. That's the one thing I had to come to terms with that it's okay to accept payment for my time and for my expertise and my knowledge because I was no longer handing people food.

I'm grateful for all the years that I spent in the restaurant business because it taught me people. At the end of the day, we're in the people business. No matter what business you're in, I think the importance is the people.

Darin: Peggy said it really well. Whether it's in the restaurant industry or helping people buy and sell one of their most valuable assets, we have a responsibility to really deliver on the expectations. One of the great ways to deliver on those expectations is to be very clear with our clients about what we can do and what we can't do, and also how we're going to perform our roles as their stewards of their transaction.

Personally, having a team of three helping me behind the scenes, I don't have to do everything. Knowing where my limitations are, and also where my time is better spent to be productive, rather than just busy. As an example, I could check email first thing in the morning, or I could have somebody help me check email first thing in the morning, so I can move on to bigger and better things to really assist my clients.

That all sounds great. Sometimes it takes a lot of willpower to really be able to do that. In our business, we really try to augment technology to help keep us all honest, whether that's software that helps with scheduling, as an example, where people can see directly into your calendar and book things in that only you allow for ahead of time and can't book things in that you don't allow for ahead of time, or whether it's in your voicemail saying that your phone is off at a certain time in the evening, or you're not available on a certain day or text auto responders.

There's so many ways that you can really help keep that balance so you don't come to that point of where you start to feel burnt out and not being able to deliver again on those expectations that are so important to deliver to our clients.

Erin: Name drop what you use for your calendar tech. I think we can all use tips. I'm sure that a lot of people use the one that you use.

Darin: Yes, there's various programs out there. The one that's my favorite is certainly Calendly. I find it the most user-friendly for both sides, not only for the professional side, but also for the consumer as well. Definitely, a great option to check out.

Peggy: I also live and die by my calendar. Everyone knows that I'll do whatever my calendar says. If they want me to show up somewhere, they'll just put it in there. I also want to give people permission as newer REALTORS® to not feel badly about saying yes all the time because we've all done it. We've all said yes. Even now, I struggle with no, but I'm in a very different position than I was when I first got my real estate license. I definitely live, and die, by my calendar.

Sometimes blocking those times out, people don't have the opportunity to put something in there. You don't even know that you've said no. I found that helped.

Erin: Yes. You have voiced a regret that you had back when your three kids were at home. I think that it's poignant to bring that up because so many people are dealing with it on the regular.

Peggy: For sure. I think a lot of times we want to do the best job possible. This job is so time-consuming. When it's your passion, and you want to do right by people, and you want to be the best you can be, it's very difficult to say no. Then you look at your watch, and it's seven o'clock, and you haven't gone home yet. I think if I had to do it over again with three small kids, I think I could have better time-blocked my time.

I could have not taken calls at dinnertime. Just time-blocked time that was specifically for them. Then people would understand. They don't want to understand, but they will understand. They will wait for you. It's really tough as a new REALTOR® to say no and to know that there's going to be more coming your way.

Erin: Crystal, you're also a fan of Calendly. Tell us about that.

Crystal: I'm a fan of technology. We try to automate parts of our business. Not all of it. It's not possible. Calendly, for example, for us, we've used it to help REALTORS® with too many leads and too many calls where they're overwhelmed. It's not only a great tool to allow people to see what your availabilities are, but it's also a great way to automate some parts of the business so you're not on the phone all the time coordinating appointments that really can be done by a tool.

Just to piggyback on Peggy's comments on saying yes, I think a lot of us got here today by saying yes to things that were difficult and challenging. I think there comes a point in time where you have to realize what are some of the things that you're really good at and drop some of the things you're not good at and refer it out and learn from other people.

Erin: You even do something as important as blocking off time for your lunch, and yet you use those two hours to also do something that's enriching for yourself and ultimately for your business, Crystal.

Crystal: Yes, I'm a fan of doing two things at once, like most REALTORS® are. Yes, I started with no appointments. When you start, you have nothing. I book appointments with myself to set my goals in the morning and make phone calls in the late mornings. Then I have two-hour lunch where I invite people to have lunch with me. Really realizing that you can both enjoy your lunch and have meaningful business conversations was one of my first discoveries in having a really balanced life, is just really blocking off two hours for lunch. If I feel like having lunch with myself, I'll do that. If I feel like I have space to meet a client, I will do so. It's worked out.

Erin: Darin, tell us about your philosophy of taking control of your calendar. If you don't have scheduling software, you can call the client and lay it out. Tell us about that.

Darin: Yes, it's really hard sometimes to impose all the great ideas that we want to-- the standards, I guess, that we want to live up to in our business. When the rubber meets the road, sometimes that's easier said than done. There's little things that you can do to still take control of your time. An example of that would be that you can be very proactive in planning your week or your time that you're actually going to spend with clients.

As an example, if a buyer that's actively looking for a property, rather than waiting for them to call you about the newest and greatest home to go take a look, well, why not book a set appointment a day or two out so everyone knows what and when you're going to be meeting. You can go ahead and look at the property then instead of being reactive and maybe being requested to go look at it at dinnertime. Another example of that would be maybe offering different times. You could say, "How is tomorrow at two o'clock," or, "Is Friday at four o'clock better?"

It's amazing when you give people those options, how they will then bend to help you succeed in maintaining your calendar rather than you succumbing to the most available times that they might offer, even if it's just on a whim.

Erin: When we return with Crystal Hung, Peggy Hill, and Darin Germyn talking leadership, whether you're solo or part of a team. Have you pulled up a virtual chair in the CREA Café today? It's the place to catch up on the latest news from the Canadian Real Estate Association. Bring yourself up to speed on legal matters, tech, and all of the elements that keep you on top of what matters to you. Visit creacafe.ca.

Now back to our three guests from the REALTOR® community: Peggy Hill, Crystal Hung, and Darin Germyn on REAL TIME. Let's move it into the talk of leadership now on REAL TIME. Of course, we are keeping in mind that we have individual REALTORS® who are working for themselves and, of course, their clients. About the leadership aspect of the conversation, Peggy, for example, you have more than 50 people who have your name on their business card. How do you balance the responsibility of leading a team with your own professional growth and achievements as a broker and CEO?

Peggy: I guess part of the beauty of having 50 people under my banner is that I'm not actively selling anymore. I think I found my lane, and it was very difficult to step away from the selling, especially to take that leap of faith and to believe that other people can hold what you hold dear, and they can be as great as you are in front of a client. That sometimes is an issue with REALTORS® is we get our ego fed by our clients telling us how great we are. It's not exactly the easiest thing to give up.

However, I just found different passions. Now I'm the rainmaker. That's my responsibility. My responsibility is to be financially responsible. My responsibility is to be the name out in our community and to make sure that I am the person that I say I am. It isn't easy, either, especially being the face of this company. It was never intentional. It's just back in the day, you were only allowed to call your team by your name. It's a lot. It really is a lot, but I love it.

My REALTORS® are my family. It's not hard for me to put their needs in the front and realize this is what they need. Because I'm able to stay back at the office, I can look at trends. I know what's happening with this market. When you're on the road as a working REALTOR®, sometimes you don't even have time to check your phone for your emails. I have the luxury of staying back and being their backup. When we meet, that's what I do.

This is what I tell them. This is what you need to know. This is what's happened. It works well for us. Again, it's having other people's needs ahead of your own and knowing what they need.

Erin: That's a maturity, Darin, that you talk about in terms of what Peggy has to say. What makes a strong leader in your books?

Darin: A strong leader is, to me, really anticipating the needs of the people that you're leading. If you think of the word leading, it stems from the word lead. When it comes to our clients, they're hiring us to lead them towards the result that they're striving for. Our job is to help them get there, as almost like a child-parent relationship where they're just watching you and wanting to know what the next step is and what the next move is because it's unfamiliar territory to them.

Whether it's with your clients or maybe it's with other REALTORS® or members of your team, they're revolving around you because they know that you're going to help get them to the destination that they most want to get to. Leadership comes with a lot of good, and it comes with a lot of challenge as well. It comes with things like sacrifice and added responsibility and added risk. The benefits of that are the rewards, like both personal and in business.

It comes with lots of opportunity, a sense of accomplishment. Being a true leader is just really being that shining North Star for others and giving the example of what's possible, helping them grow and succeed to get to where they want to go.

Erin: Crystal, how about you?

Crystal: I think the term team building is almost too trendy right now. I think it's perfectly fine if one REALTOR® has a team of professionals helping them. That could be notary, it could be inspectors, it could be lawyers, it could be mortgage brokers. Having that team around you as one REALTOR® is so essential. A lot of us are leading teams, but as a leader of my team and my companies, I don't see my job as to do their job. I see my job as really to craft a vision to help them see where we're all going collectively.

That's really what I focus on, is really communicating what that vision looks like. Whether it's a vision for one client selling a home or a developer selling a project, crafting that vision is the first thing I do. When that's done and clear in my head, I spend most of my day conveying that vision to my team.

Erin: You're more of a conductor, arranger, as opposed to saying to the first violinist, "Move, you're not playing those notes exactly as I would like them to be played or as how I would play them." You are instead overseeing the whole symphony to make the company work, whether it's just you, the soloist out there on the stage, or whether it's an entire orchestra.

Crystal: 100%. I think that's the perfect analogy. We do actually talk about theater production a lot in my team. We have to practice, we have to get the lighting right. We have to get, in our case, the furniture right. We have to get our photography right. It's really that organization of chaos that comes together that delivers results for clients. I really don't think that our job is to do everything. If you look at what our clients' needs are, it's over 200 tasks.

There's no way one person can do it all. If you have the space in your heart to lead a team of REALTORS®, and that might be your path, but if you're just one REALTOR® you want flexibility, you don't want to attach to anyone, you could have a partner that you call on demand to work on things together, if it makes sense. It doesn't always have to be a full-time team that works together forever. It's perfectly fine if you just have a part-time team.

Erin: Peggy, when you began, teams weren't really a thing, were they?

Peggy: 20 years ago, when I started selling real estate, there were no teams. There wasn't a roadmap for me to get there or even to think that I wanted a team. I had no aspirations to run a team. I was on the path to just want to feed my kids. What happened was I just started getting too busy. When I would roll my eyes, when the phone would ring, I thought to myself, this is not the experience I want for my clients. This is me dodging phone calls. This is wrong.

After getting some admin support, and that's when I hired my first buyer's agent, then my second, maybe my third. Then I had someone come with me to listing appointments because those are obviously the last things you give up. That person came with me for almost two years and learned everything I said and delivered to the client the way I wanted it delivered. Then that person showed that person. I'm sure there's different ways to do this, but again, I did not have a roadmap on how to get here. I was just trying to do a good job.

Erin: How did it feel, Peggy, when you would sit in front of one of your team members and say, "You made that happen"? How did that feel as someone who used to be the one that could tell themselves, give themselves that pat on the back?

Peggy: In the beginning, when one of your team members sells a home, and you weren't part of it-- because we all know there's a lot of great highs and a lot of low lows in this business. One of the greatest accomplishments is helping somebody buy and sell a home. When you're no longer involved in that, it's a hit to the ego at first, being completely transparent. It was a little tough to get used to, but then when you look at the bigger picture and how you're able--

I truly believe our team, we care a lot. I'm not saying others don't, but we just have a special way of doing things. I feel like the community would suffer without us. Now I can affect so many more people and help so many more people. Again, it did not start off as me wanting a team. Didn't even know what that was.

Erin: When we come back, we talk about this being the season of giving, but for REALTORS®, as you well know, that's a year round thing. We'll explore that. We hope you're enjoying this conversation. Part of our Working REALTORS® series. If you missed an episode, no problem. Make sure you subscribe. There are 44 other great, insightful, and entertaining real-time chats just waiting for you to enjoy, with a whole bunch more in store. Listen on your favorite app. Thank you for making REAL TIME the go-to podcast for REALTORS® in Canada who are on the move and at and on their way to the top.

Just like our guests today, Peggy Hill, broker and CEO of Barrie Ontario's Peggy Hill team, Darin Germyn, a REALTOR® with the Germyn Group in Surrey and director-at-large with CREA, and Crystal Hung, owner of Icon & Co, named to Business in Vancouver's 40 Under 40 list in 2021. While we're talking about helping others, it's a perfect segue into the additional time that you have all three committed in some way or another to broadening your impact, not just on your community, but, Darin, in your case, the country as well, putting more on yourself to give more of yourself.

Darin, you've held various positions on local, provincial, and national boards and committees, currently a director-at-large with CREA. What draws you to the governance side of real estate? How do you balance your own business interests with serving the real estate community-at-large?

Darin: It's a great story. Like so many volunteers have, I stumbled my way into it through the great mentorship, and coming off our conversation on leadership, of some of the great leaders in my life. It is incredibly addictive for all the right reasons. You get to meet incredible people. That's not just from organized real estate, but even people that you might not ever even have access to. Maybe it's politicians or thought leaders or influencers.

Not only that, real estate can be very lonely, and it can also be mentally challenging. By participating in some of these volunteer activities, it forces you to get outside of your own business to come up for some air, go for a break. Then you get to come back with a refreshed mind. I think the most rewarding part of it, though, Erin, is having your thumbprint on the industry. So often we can find ourselves maybe complaining or feeling a certain way about whatever might be going on in the world or a situation.

Sometimes it's maybe things that we feel like we don't have any control over. This is one thing that I can help influence. We're such an interesting industry full of incredible people. There's always things going on in our industry, whether it's government or policy or public perception. I want to be part of making that better. I want to make it better for everybody from coast to coast. It just gives me an opportunity to be a part of creating something great, rather than having something handed to me that I may or may not agree with.

That's the, I guess, the selfish benefit that comes along with being a volunteer. In terms of balancing your own business, you've got to get really clear on what is going to best serve your clients and cut out a lot of the noise. I think oftentimes there can be a lot of noise and a lot of fluff and a lot of things we do that we think we have to do. It's almost the difference between busy work and productive work.

When you can really figure out what makes you effective, for your clients, for the people you're serving, for the results that you want to produce, and you can cut out a lot of that fluff, it's incredible the amount of time you can get back in your day, the amount of leverage that you can create, and also surrounding yourself with people that can help you create further leverage to make sure that you can accomplish your business goals, your clients' goals, your personal goals, your volunteer goals, all of that. It comes with a great team behind you, and it also just comes with the clarity of what really moves the bar and keeps you getting better and being productive.

Erin: Crystal, you won the 2022 REALTORS Care® Award from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, and you were one of this year's national nominees. Congratulations. Can you talk a bit about the philanthropic side of your life, please?

Crystal: I started volunteering, I think, when I was 12, 13 years old. I really haven't stopped. I've become more public about that work through the work we did during the pandemic. For me, it is one of the ways for myself to stay grounded. I think when we're successful in our career, in our industry, we get busy, and we forget to look at what's outside of our industry a lot. One of the reasons why I continue to volunteer and give back is it fills my soul, but it also keeps me humble.

The humility I see when I'm volunteering in myself and others, I just feel energized. There are days when I'm so tired, but I will go and make sandwiches with the crew and I feel energized after. After a while, your body just wants to do more of that. I think a lot of us just get busy, and we're so afraid to miss a call or miss an offer for 40 minutes. It sometimes just fills the rest of my week. It's so worth it.

Erin: When you tell your clients you're not available because you're volunteering, it is not virtue signaling. It is the truth, and it tells them who you are. That's just about as powerful as any slogan on a bus bench. That's great.

Crystal: I agree. Yes.

Erin: Peggy, have you got anything to add from your experience on this?

Peggy: I can tell you, for me, personally, I grew up very poor as a child and even as early as a young adult, and then I got into this business, and I've been very successful. I'm still so grateful that I can't stop giving. When somebody needs something, they-- I love the fact that in my community, I'm known as a person you come to when you need something. During the pandemic, we would put out dumpsters in people's neighborhoods, and I was known as a dumpster girl during the pandemic because the local dumps were closed.

There was really not much garbage pickups, so people were home trying to clean out their houses. We just put dumpsters out in neighborhoods and just did that. Again, it's a feel-good. It makes me feel good, and it makes me feel like I'm contributing back to the community that's given myself and my family so much that I'm grateful for.

Erin: What a neat idea.

Peggy: Yes. I'm the dumpster girl.

Erin: Back in a moment with our guests, and we'll be discussing the concept that no is a complete sentence. Something that can be hard to come to terms with. We all agree knowledge is power, from links to CREA Café to newsletters for and about you, plus insightful market analysis. Get the information you need to be knowledgeable and powerful. Find it all at CREA.ca.

Now back to our guests from Surrey, Darin Germyn of The Germyn Group, from Barrie, Peggy Hill, broker and CEO of Peggy Hill team, and from Greater Vancouver, Crystal Hung on REAL TIME. You've said yes to so much, and we're grateful to you, Peggy, Crystal, Darin, for making the time and saying yes to us today on REAL TIME, but when did you start being selective with the work that you took on? I'll start with you, Peggy.

Peggy: I think when I realized that I wasn't able to deliver the service that I got into this business to deliver, so when I wasn't able to call the clients back in time. When I didn't feel like I had the time to really devote to each and every single client, I believe that's when something changed for me.

Erin: Crystal, I love how you bring up the issue of vulnerability when you're saying no. I don't think enough of us are vulnerable in our lives and in our business, and that can be hard. How does it work for you?

Crystal: I think vulnerability is a tool, and it's a beautiful tool that once we understand how to express it, it allows people around you and your community to really know your value and respect your time and your boundaries. For me, I see our work as emotional and energy management. When you start to look at a client, and you say to yourself, "How much energy and how much emotion am I going to manage here?"

You ask yourself, do you have it? If the truth is you don't, you have to look at that and see who's actually a better fit for them. For me, it's not about saying a hard no or having a vacation alert to let everyone know I'm away. It's about just having those conversations with your partner, with your team, with your colleague, and your client to let them know you just need a little break and let them know you're away for a facial, or you are walking your dog and having those real conversations. I find it is so powerful.

Erin: You collect the people who respect your no.

Crystal: I do. Over time, they accumulate.

Erin: Yes, they do. Darin, do you have anything to add? How do you ensure you don't bite off more than you can chew, and why is this so important?

Darin: It's so important, Erin. I've always been getting a little confused with taking on obligations in situations where you can't deliver on the expectation that's been set. As an example, in our industry, if you've got a client that has an expectation, let's say, of the price of their home, and you know as the professional in the situation that you're not able to help them achieve their goals.

Rather than live through a transaction that's draining on you and them due to not being able to meet the expectations, and there's a strong likelihood of maybe that home not even selling, why not just avoid this situation at all? You're actually doing them a service because you're spreading the word for the next person that comes in so they can maybe help them meet the expectation, but you're also saving your sanity and your time, and that time can go to your family or volunteering, or helping another client and being there for them. I think it's so important to really help those that you enjoy, those that appreciate your professional opinion and really value it.

Help those who are going to accept you for who you are. We all bring different strengths and opportunities to the business. Embrace your strengths and work on your shortcomings to become the best version of yourself, to help better serve those that you are serving. One of the best ways you can do that is by being very particular with who you spend your time with, not only in business but also personally as well.

Erin: Respect yourself enough to say no. My husband, through my career of radio and some television, there were a lot of extracurricular things that I felt I had to do. It came down to the question, when I was deciding whether to do it, he said, "When we're on our way to the event, are you going to be saying, why did I say yes?" It just puts such a different kind of a filter on it. Put yourself ahead to that point. Whether it's in a business transaction or whether you're getting set to show up and shine to something, how are you going to feel when you're on the way there? That's my two cents worth rounded up to a nickel.

Darin: That's such a great point. If you're not excited to show up, if you're not excited to deliver a result, if you're not excited to make that phone call, you've got to look a little deeper and see what's causing you to feel that way. Maybe you're not the best fit for that situation because you're not as committed to it because your heart is not in it because you don't feel that you can help them achieve what they're looking for. That's okay. You need to be comfortable with that to know that you can't help everybody, but really put your focus, time, and energy into those that you can help.

Erin: Like you said, there could be somebody else who's a better fit for it, so send it their way. Let them have at it, and you'll find something that's better for you. I am so thrilled to have just listened to a keynote speech from each of you. I think it was fantastic, and thank you for inviting me to MC it. Now you have just done your keynotes, Peggy Crystal, Darin, on balancing your personal and professional life. Starting with you, Crystal, what would the last line of your presentation be?

Crystal: I started this career, this business with this concept in mind, which was, you're here to sell trust, you're not here to sell real estate. Trust is everything in real estate.

Erin: Nothing else matters. Peggy, what are your words of wisdom that you're leaving us with in this keynote speech?

Peggy: No pressure.

Erin: None at all.

Peggy: I think it goes back to our core values. Our slogan as a team is real people, real service, real results. I believe when you're being real, that's the best part of you. You check in with yourself, and that's what we live and die by over here. Just be real. Be real with your clients, be real with yourself, and nothing but good things will happen.

Erin: Last word to Darin, before we turn off the lights in this virtual auditorium, last lines of your keynote speech.

Darin: Well, how do you follow up with something that sounds intelligent when Peggy and Crystal had such good answers? I'm going to try my best. I'm going to steal a line from my coach and a mentor of mine, Richard Robbins. When it comes to finding balance, I think it's important for the listener to remember that it's your business. That means it's your game to play. You get to decide the rules.

It's your choice and your prerogative to create a business that supports the life that you want to live and help you become the person that you want to be. If you keep that in mind, you will be successful, and you'll find the balance in your life that you're looking for.

Erin: Thank you. Thank you, Darin. Thank you, Peggy. Thank you, Crystal. We are all giving you a standing ovation great keynote, but more importantly, just a super conversation today. Thanks for sharing your wisdom and your insight, and thank you for saying yes.

Peggy: Thank you.

Crystal: Thank you, Erin.

Darin: Thank you so much.

Erin: You take care. Thank you so much for joining us for Episode 45 of REAL TIME, a production of Alphabet® Creative. Rob Whitehead at Real Family Productions is our sound engineer. I'm your host, Erin Davis. We're so glad you joined us here. A reminder to subscribe so you don't miss one episode. Thanks for listening, and we'll talk to you here next time on REAL TIME.