Alternate Routes.

Subconscious detours, the routes we choose consciously, and the feelings in between.

Talk about signs.

I snapped the photo above on my drive into the Nest office last week. Yet another apartment project is being razed in the Fan district of Richmond. This particular project, next door to my office, broke ground sometime in the fall last year.

First it was the construction fences taking away three city blocks of street parking. Then, without warning, this 'Road Closed' barricade started showing up, not consistently, no schedule whatsoever.

Throughout this project, the construction dudes don't always remember to block the road. On those mornings I get excited that the easy way into the lot is available, only to find a cherry picker or cement truck blocking the entrance. 

I am not the only one frustrated by this experience. It's all we talk about at the office.

As soon as we all get used to the road closure being there and change our routes, the new route ends up being closed. There have been days where the only way to get into the parking lot is to go the wrong way down a one way street, praying we don't find ourselves in a game of chicken with an oncoming vehicle.

None of it changes the fact that we have to get there.

What gets in the way of where we are headed is exactly what we work through in the last few weeks of my Honest Hours cohort. We start with acknowledging the road closed barricades and how we often blame forces outside of ourselves for our woes. Next, I challenge them to uncover the unconscious things we do to get in our own way. We dig into what it means and feels like to be building our confidence in seasons of change.

It was a privilege to sit weekly with the women who committed to the inaugural Honest Hours. Witnessing what they came with, the goals they named and the emotional shift each experienced in our six short weeks together has been such a gift.

That same shift is what I'm bringing to my Nest agents on October 6th. It may sound like two different conversations; a room of women getting clear on what is next, versus a room of agents planning their next year. They aren't. The question underneath is the same. 

Where are you headed, and what keeps getting in the way?

October is the time of year when the goal-setting webinars start flooding our inboxes and Instagram feeds, promising to set you up for a successful Q1. The world of sales is the loudest about it, but none of us escape it. 

I say the same thing every year. The fourth quarter, not January, is when we need to get clear on where we are headed. Before the holidays swallow the calendar, ahead of the clock striking midnight and ushering in 2027 with its pressure of resolutions and fresh starts. Now is when you need to get clear on your plan to ensure the success you desire comes to fruition in the new year.

Every one of those courses will eventually walk you through reverse engineering your number, knowing your closing ratio, get you excited to promote yourself. That part is important and has its place. But a half day of getting jazzed up, followed by a list of tasks that feels daunting to a lot of us, can leave you deflated shortly after the free session ends. Excited for a moment, overwhelmed the next, not sure where to start. That is how we end up in a rut.

When you are building a home, it's fun to start with the finishes, but real estate professionals or not, we know that a strong foundation is the most crucial for longevity and success. In the work of setting your goals, the foundation is knowing who you are, how you want to show up in every area of your life, and what quietly stops you from making the call, writing the note, asking for the thing, standing up in front of the room.

It's this pre-work I'm bringing to my Nest agents on October 6th, and it is where the next group of women will begin on November 1st, when the second session of Honest Hours begins. 

Different rooms, same foundation. Registration is open now for my second Honest Hours cohort, you can learn more about it here. 

And just to add a shameless plug on behalf of Nest Realty, if you're an agent interested in knowing more about how we work at Nest, you can schedule time to chat with me here.

The road closed signs will keep showing up. The route you counted on will be blocked some mornings with no warning and no schedule. 

A plan built on a number alone falls apart at the first barricade. A plan built on purpose finds the pivot, because you already know where you are headed and why.

 Do you know where you are headed well enough to find your way around whatever detour you encounter?