Drive Like a Boss
Heather Ewing • November 30, 2023

I am driving back from Milwaukee this morning, and I saw a billboard. It says, drive like a boss. Of course, it made me smile because I am my own boss and have been for almost four years now with ABSTRACT Commercial Real Estate LLC. 


I was reflecting on it due to conversations last night. I was in Milwaukee for the CARW Holiday party. Another amazing success! There were approximately 400 people in attendance, beautiful venue, a great group of brokers, investors, associates, lenders, etc.


I was talking with a couple of the brokers about ABSTRACT and, and it was nice. they commended me for taking that leap of faith that you so frequently hear about. The interesting thing that they shared, that took me by surprise, was that they said they just would never have the gumption to do that. 


I don't see myself as any different than the average person in CRE for the most part. I've definitely pushed really hard. I think there's a lot of people that push hard set dreams, attain goals, and create success. Additionally, there are definitely people more successful than myself financially and in other ways as well.


It's always nice to have that big carrot, right? 


I was sharing that maybe it was different for me because I came from an extremely small firm, it was the owner-broker and myself. There wasn't a large team of other agents and a big fleet where it felt like family or a lot of collaboration nor support staff such as an assistant, marketing person, legal, etc. It was interesting and got me thinking. When I was younger, I used to think that if you left a job or career arena especially, that it was all lost, right? All that time, your energy, resources, etc. lost. As the years accumulate and we grow/progress, I realized that each of the different experiences serve to shape us. Another way I like to say it is it adds to our tool belt of resources, of knowledge, expertise, and our ability to relate to people in different ways increasing your network and life experience.


It was a provocative conversation. 


And I think it's easy as an entrepreneur or someone that pushes themselves that it's easy at times to feel like you're spinning or not getting the traction you desire. But it's like the old adage that when there's a storm and it's blowing the tree, that that's when the roots grow deeper and it allows you to perform at a much more expansive, higher, and extensive manner. It’s really quite neat when you reflect on it. 


My message to people in this blog entry is to remember there are the winters of life of challenge and summers of ease. Some of the most challenging times force us to leave behind old habits or ways of thinking that are not serving us to venture into new opportunities, to think creatively, resourcefully, and do something you might not have otherwise done. And that was also a conversation with a couple different brokers of, if they hadn't had their backs against the wall, they wouldn't be where they're at because they wouldn't have pushed as hard. I could totally relate. 

At times, I've wished that I had a significant other or financial support to help balance some of the challenging months. Anyone in commercial real estate knows that anything can and will change. At the same time, I realized that I would not be as resourceful and resilient if I weren’t fully dependent upon my success. I wouldn't be as confident because each of those “challenging times” forced me to get creative, forced me to go beyond my comfort zone, and allowed me to grow, to become more, to have more, and to just really appreciate the smallest to the biggest things, and to foster stronger relationships with people. 


It's challenging being vulnerable, right? It’s not a strong suit of mine or for many people. When you're in an arena where you are one of the few women which I've gotten used to over the years, you have to toughen up. I was raised by my father which helped with this and the fact that I worked in areas of primarily men including sports like karate. It was home.


It makes me think of Darwinism, the strong survive, nurture versus nature, all of those different aspects. My pivotal question to you for this month's blog is how are you showing up? How are you shifting, evolving, becoming your greatest self?


If you're in that moment of weathering a storm, what is it helping you to see about yourself, to change about yourself? And what are you becoming as a result of this experience? I would love to hear from you. Please comment, like, share, respond. This is an emporium for personal and career growth, and at the root of both of those is mindset. Go get it!

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