“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” — Jim Rohn
A new agent asked me recently what I’d do differently if I were starting again today. I gave him a shorter answer than he expected: I’d stop trying to figure it all out alone, and I’d stop letting my ego decide what advice was worth listening to.
If you could compress five years of trial and error into nine decisions, would you take the shortcut?
Reputation Beats Networking Cards
Tom Panos put it in one line I repeat constantly: “It’s not who you know, it’s who knows you.” Jason Boon described his biggest career turning point as “understanding that I was delusional about who I thought I was and allowing my ego to get in the way.” Mat Steinwede’s advice has always been simpler than people expect: keep it basic, stay within your means.
Feeling this one? You don’t have to figure it out alone — book a free High Performance Call and let’s talk through where you’re at.
Nine Steps to Grow Faster
- Model success. Copy the habits of agents who are already where you want to be.
- Select an area you resonate with. You’ll outwork everyone else there without even trying.
- Don’t buy stuff you don’t need. Cash flow discipline early buys you options later.
- Build networks and relationships fast. Reputation compounds faster than any ad spend.
- Lose the ego. It’s the single biggest thing standing between you and good advice.
- Make sure it’s for you, or get out fast. Half-committed agents waste years nobody gives back.
- Love buyers — they become your sellers. Every buyer today is a listing conversation tomorrow.
- Play to your strengths. Stop trying to fix weaknesses that someone else on your team already covers.
- Train like a pro. Athletes drill fundamentals for years. Most agents drill nothing.
Take action: Pick the one step above you’re weakest on, and give it deliberate attention this month — not all nine at once.
This is Radical Ownership of your own learning curve: you can pay for it in years, or you can pay for it in humility. Humility is cheaper.
If you’re ready to shortcut your own learning curve, book a free High Performance Call.
About Jet Xavier
Jet Xavier is a High Performance mindset and accountability coach who works with real estate agents, principals and team leaders to build sustainable, high-performing careers. Learn more about Jet.
This piece began as a column for Elite Agent — you can read the original here.
