In 34 Years, No Agent Died...

Let me start with a bold, wildly irresponsible admission.

In 34 years of coaching real estate professionals…

Across thousands of clients…

Through every market cycle imaginable…

I have not had one client die from taking a day off.

Not one.

No one flatlined because they didn’t return that email immediately.

No one collapsed because they missed a Tuesday prospecting session.

No one was rushed to the ER because they shut their laptop, put their phone down, and went for a walk.

Yet… if you listen to how people talk about their business, you’d think the opposite were true.

“I can’t take my foot off the gas.”

“If I stop, everything will fall apart.”

“I don’t have the luxury of slowing down.”

“I’ll rest when things calm down.”

Spoiler alert: Things never calm down.

The Real Estate Industry’s Favorite Lie

Somewhere along the way, we decided that constant motion equals commitment.

That exhaustion equals importance.

That burnout equals success.

And the survival brain loves this narrative.

Because as long as you’re busy…

You don’t have to be still.

You don’t have to feel.

You don’t have to think.

You don’t have to face the deeper questions.

You just keep running.

But here’s the part no one wants to say out loud:

Most agents aren’t afraid of taking a day off because of what might happen to their business.

They’re afraid of what might come up inside them when they stop.

Stillness Is Not Dangerous. Avoidance Is.

When you slow down, the noise quiets.

And when the noise quiets, the internal dialogue gets louder.

The self-doubt.

The comparison.

The stories.

The pressure.

The internal terrorist that says:

• “You’re falling behind.”
• “You should be doing more.”
• “Other people are working harder than you.”
• “Who do you think you are to rest?”

So instead of learning how to be with themselves, people stay busy.

They confuse movement with progress.

Urgency with importance.

Effort with effectiveness.

And over time, the cost shows up:

• Shorter tempers
• Lower creativity
• Weaker relationships
• Reactive decision-making
• A constant low-grade anxiety they can’t quite name

That’s not high performance.

That’s survival.

Let’s Be Honest About “Days Off”

Most people don’t even take days off.

They take different kinds of workdays.

They call it “time off,” but they’re still checking email.

Still scrolling listings.

Still mentally rehearsing conversations.

Still half-present with the people right in front of them.

That’s not rest.

That’s just working without getting paid for it.

Real rest isn’t about being irresponsible.

It’s about being intentional.

And that’s where this gets uncomfortable.

The Question No One Wants to Ask

Here it is: If your business can’t survive you taking a day off… what have you actually built?

A business? Or a treadmill?

Because sustainable businesses don’t rely on constant adrenaline.

They rely on standards.

Standards for:

• How time is used
• How energy is managed
• How decisions are made
• How relationships are cultivated
• How work is structured

The irony?

The agents who are most afraid to step away are usually the ones who need it the most.

Not because they’re lazy. Because they’re exhausted. 

Taking a Day Off Is a Performance Skill

High performers don’t rest because they’re weak.

They rest because they understand something most people don’t:

Recovery is not the opposite of performance. It’s part of it.

In professional sports, rest days aren’t optional.

They’re programmed.

Why? Because without recovery:

• Muscles break down
• Focus deteriorates
• Injuries increase
• Performance declines

The brain works the same way. Yet in real estate, we pretend the rules don’t apply.

What’s Actually at Stake

This isn’t about vacations. Or weekends. Or permission to do less.

It’s about whether you’re operating from:

• Panic or purpose
• Reaction or intention
• Fear or standards

Because the goal isn’t to work less.

The goal is to work better.

More clarity.

More presence.

More discernment.

More effectiveness.

And yes—more enjoyment. (That’s allowed, by the way.)

A Quiet Truth From 34 Years In

I’ve watched this play out for decades.

The agents who never slow down eventually burn out… or fade out.

The agents who build standards, rhythms, and recovery into their lives?

They last.

They evolve.

They thrive.

And not one of them died from taking a day off.

This Is The Performance Six

This entire conversation lives at the core of The Performance Six:

• Practicing Mindfulness – noticing when survival is running the show
• Optimizing Time – understanding that not all effort matters equally
• Cultivating Relationships – being fully present, not half-available
• Implementing Process – building a business that doesn’t rely on chaos
• Mastering Communication – slowing down enough to truly listen
• Acting Strategically – doing less, better… on purpose

This is what it means to hold yourself to a higher standard—not a higher pace.

You don’t need to earn rest.

You don’t need permission to slow down.

And you don’t need to prove your worth through exhaustion.

In 34 years, I’ve seen what actually works.

And I can tell you this with complete confidence: Taking a day off won’t kill your business. But never learning how to step off the treadmill just might.