I had a dream.

Not a Martin Luther King kind of dream. A dream about climbing a mountain in a Jeep with Brené Brown.

We were driving up an almost 90-degree incline, the road so steep I couldn’t see what was ahead. The engine groaned, the tires slipped, and gravity threatened to pull us backward.

I had been here before—not in a dream, but in real life. In the back of a pickup truck with 5 of my friends, gripping the edges with white knuckles as we climbed out of Waipi’o Valley, unable to see the road in front of us through the cab windows. I found out afterward that our driver was also unable to see the road in front of him! It was the most physically terrifying experience of my life.

For perspective: The steepest part of Oak Street in Vancouver is a 22% grade—and that only lasts a block or so. The road into Waipi’o Valley drops 882 feet over 1.3 miles (250m over 2km). The average grade is 25%, with the steepest sections hitting 45%. It’s one of the steepest roads in the United States!

In my dream, as fear coiled around my ribs, Brené Brown turned to me and said:

“It’s okay. You just need to hold tight and gear down. What you are doing is not easy, but it is possible. I have done it.”

It’s a dream I will never forget, not just because Brene Brown made a guest appearance. It changed the way I approached my business as a realtor. I’ve been thinking of that dream again lately because: this is what business can feel like in a shifting market.

When the Market Changes, So Does the Road Ahead

Right now, the market is uncertain. Deals are stalling. People are hesitating. It feels like you’re driving up a mountain so steep you can’t see what’s next. The road is unstable, and the fear of sliding backward is real.

And this is the moment where most agents panic. They freeze. They stop marketing, stop investing, stop moving forward. And when you stop on an incline? You don’t stay still—you slide backward.

But the agents who make it to the top?

They do what expert mountain climbers do:

→ They gear down. Slow, steady, intentional moves. Small, strategic shifts instead of panicked reactions.

→ They trust the process. Even when they can’t see the road ahead, they know others have climbed it before.

→ They keep going. Fear doesn’t mean stop. Fear means pay attention.

How to Climb When the Market Feels Unsteady

If you feel like you’re gripping the steering wheel of your business with white knuckles right now, here’s how to get traction instead of sliding back:

1️⃣ Adjust Your Gear → If your old marketing and lead generation strategies aren’t working, shift them. What worked in a booming market isn’t what works in a shifting one. It’s time to refine your messaging, get laser-focused on the right clients, and double down on high-trust marketing.

2️⃣ Keep Your Hands on the Wheel → Don’t stop showing up. Visibility is everything right now. While others go silent, you increase your presence, engage your audience, and become the agent people turn to.

3️⃣ Lean Into the Right Support → No one climbs alone. Every top-performing agent surrounds themselves with the right mentors, strategists, and peers. Find the people who have done it, and follow their lead.

4️⃣ Trust That the Road Leads Somewhere → Just because you can’t see the top doesn’t mean it’s not there. Markets recover. Opportunities shift. The Realtors who keep climbing are the ones who make it.

Your Next Move

If this market feels like the steepest climb you’ve faced, you don’t have to do it alone.

Let’s make sure you have the right strategy, the right positioning, and the right mindset to not just survive—but rise.

PS: If you’re ready to shift gears and make 2025 the year you move forward despite what’s going on in the world. Let’s talk.

This could be the year that you breakthrough and keep your pipeline full and still have time to take care of your health and wellness and spend time with your family just like my client Diane did in 2024.