280 | What if Real Estate Success Costs the People You Love? How to Prioritize What Really Matters

Real estate success isn’t just about bigger numbers, bigger awards, or bigger months — it’s about what your success is costing you behind the scenes. In this episode, I share a deeply personal story involving a $100,000 loss, a federal investigation, and a moment with my daughter that completely reframed how I think about ambition, pursuit, and what actually matters. This conversation will challenge how you define real estate success and help you examine whether your current path is building the life you actually want — or quietly undermining it.

Most agents are trained to chase production at all costs. The industry celebrates volume, rankings, and income, but rarely asks about your heart, your home, or your spiritual health. We unpack how easy it is for high performers to normalize unhealthy tradeoffs and call it growth. Drawing from Scripture and real-world experience, this episode explores how the pursuit of more can slowly choke out purpose, relationships, and calling if left unchecked.

You’ll hear a practical and faith-grounded framework for redefining real estate success through stewardship instead of accumulation, alignment instead of applause, and presence instead of pressure. We talk honestly about work-life balance and why it feels so hard for driven agents, especially those who genuinely love serving clients but struggle to turn work off. If you’ve ever felt torn between production and presence, this message will hit home.

We also dive into time freedom and what it actually looks like in a service-based business, along with time management for real estate agents who want structure without burnout. Instead of hustle without limits, we discuss building guardrails that protect what matters most while still allowing you to grow. This includes candid discussion around real estate agent integrity — not just in transactions, but in how you lead your family, steward your schedule, and pursue your calling.

At the core, this episode is about finding meaning in real estate career growth beyond commissions and closings. It’s about becoming the kind of person who can sustain success without sacrificing faith, family, or peace. You’ll be invited to ask better questions, examine hidden costs, and realign your ambition with values that last longer than market cycles.

If you want real estate success that is sustainable, faith-aligned, and deeply rooted — not fragile and performance-driven — this episode will give you both conviction and clarity.

Key Takeaways:

• Real estate success is not just production — it’s what your pursuit is costing your faith, family, and relationships.
•  The most dangerous goals are often the ones the industry loudly celebrates.
•  Chasing more money and recognition can quietly choke out purpose and spiritual growth.
•  Ambition is good — but it must be aligned, structured, and value-driven.
•  Presence at home is a truer scorecard than awards and rankings.
•  Build systems that protect margin, not just income.
•  Measure success by stewardship, integrity, an

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Transcript

I had $100,000 stolen from me. His name was Darrell, and over ten years he stole more than $177 million from thousands of people. But now he faces life in prison at age 55. But that's not the part of the story that stopped me cold. In this episode, I'm sharing a personal story that stopped me in my tracks about money, success, and what it can quietly cost us if we're not paying attention. It's a conversation about pursuit, about the trade offs we normalize in the name of winning, and a warning straight from Luke 814 about how the cares, riches and pleasures of life can slowly choke out what actually matters. This isn't about business strategy, it's about alignment. And it's an invitation to take an honest look at what we're really building and who we're becoming along the way. Do you want to grow your business and still be everything God has called you to be, but feel stuck in that constant work mode with no real balance? If so, you're in the right place. Hi, I'm Garrett, husband, data five and high producing Christian agent. I learned how to build a thriving real estate business without sacrificing my faith, my family, or myself. And now I'm here to share what actually works. So if you're ready for proven systems, smarter strategies, and a God honoring way forward, refill that coffee, dust off that Bible and let's go. Hey, Christian agent, you already have a brokerage. But what if there was a better fit? One that cares not only about your commission check, but also your heart, your peace, and your presence at home? A brokerage that understands real success isn't just selling homes, it's pursuing excellence to the glory of God in every area of life. I'm looking for ten high producing Christian agents who are winning on paper, but feel the tension every day between being fully present at home and producing at work agents who are tired of building a business that cost them family dinners, spiritual alignment and peace agents who know their business has become way too loud and they're ready for God to be louder. We're building a brokerage organization grounded in biblical values with proven systems to help you scale without burnout time saving strategies that protect your peace. World class coaching and direct support from me to help you grow the right way, not just the fast way. So if you're a high performing agent who's succeeding but knows there has to be a healthier, more sustainable path forward, this isn't a sales call. It's a 20 minute conversation of discernment to see whether this could be a better fit for where God might be leading you next. If this is resonating, don't ignore it. Go to Faithful agents and grab a time that's faithful agent and grab a time. Hey everybody, welcome back to another episode of the Faithful Agent Podcast. We're going to be diving into some deep stuff today. So before we get too deep, just to lighten everybody's load a little bit, let me start with a Christian dad joke. Who is the greatest female financier in the Bible? Pharaoh's daughter. She went down to the Bank of the Nile. And she drew out a little prophet. Uh, that's actually hilarious. But what is it? Hilarious. Notice the amazing segue is a year ago, I literally had $100,000 stolen from me. I had made this investment into a group of ATM machines. It was the ATM fund where all the investors in front of me had been going on for years, had been receiving about $1,100 a month in returns because these ATM machines were going really well. Well, a couple of months after I had made that investment, I get an email that just says Darrell Heller is his name. Who is the. Running this investment. Who collected all this money? $177 million. He's not paying anymore. And it kept going. And he kept going. And it was over a year, almost a year where finally it was now. Hey, the FBI is coming after him, the SEC is coming after him. And now this group that I invested with or everybody's in lawsuits with this man. He's 55 years old. Uh, he stole $177 million from what we can tell. I literally got an email from, uh, the, the Federal Bureau of Investigation saying I've been identified as a victim in a crime, which that's never happened before. That was a strange email to get. And it went through a lot of what was happening. And so much of it was he stole $177 million. He spent most of it. Right now he's 55 years old. He's in jail right now. And he's he's getting ready to go in front of a judge and a couple of months, and he faces a 100 year sentence, which, you know, is a life sentence. I remember sharing that story with my daughter. And, I mean, it's a terrible situation, right? Like. Of course I don't want to lose money. And I hate that anybody has lost money and the reality of sin in our world. But, you know, that's that's not the part of the story that stopped me cold. I was having a conversation with my oldest daughter. You guys know if you've listened to the show, I've got five kids, eight, six, four, 2 in 6 months. So I'm having a conversation with my oldest daughter, my eight year old Hatty, and I'm telling her what was going on. And we were talking about this because I had just gotten this email about being a victim from the FBI and I, and she asked me what was going on, and I told her how this man had stolen $100,000 from daddy and and lots of money from lots of other people. And and it was her response that really hit me. She looked at me and she said, daddy, how sad is that? You know, he stole all that money. And so he had all that money. But now this is what she was thinking. Now when he goes to jail, he's going to spend the rest of his life alone when he's sick or when he dies. Like, who is even gonna be there for him? And that was the response of my eight year old daughter. And it and it really hit me that that moment I realized this story wasn't about theft. The story was about pursuit. The question wasn't of just about Darrell. It was about all of us. It was especially about high producers. Because, you know, here's the reality. You know, most of us aren't stealing, or at least I hope you aren't. Most of us won't go to prison. Hopefully. Right. But are we guilty of something just as dangerous? You know, here we saw this man in this story. It's a real life story. This is actually happening right now. He stole $100,000 from me, $177 million from thousands of people. He went after this pursuit, this pursuit of money, this pursuit of the good life, this pursuit of whatever he was in pursuit of. It was certainly of the world, not of the Lord. He was in pursuit of it, and he got it, and he had it for, you know, ten years, let's say, somewhere around a decade. But now, what did it cost him? He's going to live the rest of his life alone. And who's gonna come when he gets sick or when he dies? Are we guilty of something just as dangerous? You know, the truth is. And you know, I don't know about you, all right? I've been in for almost 12 years. But there's been times in my life and my business life as an agent where I've traded presents for production, where I've been gone a lot more than I should be. But I just keep promising my family that this is for you. And so it should be okay where we keep chasing more, but we actually already have enough. And and we get to this point where we just justify being absent from our family and the people we love and care about because we say, well, I gotta provide. And sometimes that's true. Don't get me wrong. But a lot of times, isn't it just because we're in pursuit of something more, more that we don't necessarily need more that we just want? Right. Did Darryl need $177 million to live a good life? Absolutely not. But he was in pursuit of more. He fell into this trap that we need more. We need more. We need more. And he kept trying to hide. He kept trying to hide it. Kept trying to hide it. Probably told the people in his life. Tried to hide it from them. Whatever he was saying, I've no idea. Right? I don't know this man personally, but the reality is, in our world, in our industry and our lives, we've been talking about how, especially as a high producing agent, it's hard to find balance at home. You know, the truth is, we are not guilty of stealing money, but we are guilty of stealing time. We don't rob investors, but we rob relationships. And I think the saddest part of that all is that we often call that success. Right. We we we live and work in this industry that every single month or week or whatever, at the end of the year, at realtor prom, when we give out awards. Awards have nothing to do with how well we've shown up at home. I've told this story before, but a couple years ago and I won't use his name. The number one agent in our market, uh, was the number one agent, right? In our entire market, there's 10,000 agents. And it was widely known that his company that year had actually lost money. But. But sadder than that, it was widely known that he had actually lost his marriage and wasn't talking to his oldest son anymore. His son was in his his 20s. And yet there he is, being celebrated as the number one agent in his market and our market, taking selfies with people, you know, grabbing drinks, celebrating with people. And he's going home to an empty house. But the industry doesn't know how to celebrate anything else. And if we're honest and I'm honest, I've fallen prey to that too. To measure success in only one way. Just like Darryl, we're just getting more and more and more as if the numbers matter bigger or better, whatever it was, no matter the cost, it was worth paying because I wanted to be the number one agent. I wanted to sell more homes. I wanted to make more money. Well, friends, I was reading and my quiet time. Two days ago I was reading and I've been reading through Luke, studying through Luke, and in Luke chapter eight verse 14, I'm going to actually start a few verses before that. Um, Jesus is talking to a crowd and then he, he tells this parable that a sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path. This is verse five and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it, and some fell on the rock. And as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. And some fell among thorns. And the thorns grew up with it, and choked it, and some fell into good soil, and grew, and yield yielded a hundredfold. As he said these things, he called out again, he being Jesus, he who has ears to hear, let him hear. And then and I love the disciples so much, because verse nine, and when the disciples asked him what this parable meant, Jesus tells them, right. The the disciples are just like us, like, all right, what in the world does that mean? And so Jesus and his kindness is is explaining it. And he comes to verse 14, and this is what struck me. And Jesus says, and as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear. But as they go on their way, they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. And it was that. It was that part. They're choked by life's cares. By the riches. By the pleasures of this world. And so they do not mature. And I thought about it in my own life, and honestly, I felt that conviction. I have what's called these ESV Journal Bibles and so on. The left side is, uh, is the scripture, on the right side is blank pages. I can journal through it. It's amazing. Uh, I have been practicing this, uh, historical age old process called lectio divina, not don't speak Latin. Nobody does. But I'm not a Latin scholar. I think that's how you pronounce it. Where you first start in your quiet time, by by being silent and recognizing the presence of God. Then you read a passage, a short one, you read it slowly, and then you journal and reflect on that passage, and then you spend time praying through that passage and ask the Lord to show you what he wants to show you. And then you end by again just feeling the presence and overwhelm of the kindness of the Lord as he just loves us no matter where we are. But I read that and I thought, you know, the the, the verse right behind it. The first right after that. Excuse me. Uh, is. And as for that, in the good soil, there are those who, hearing the word hold it fast and an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience. In verse eight, when he's telling the parable, he says, yields a hundredfold. And I remember I'm just being honest with you, friends, that that I. Am sitting there and journaling and I'm just writing and praying and ask the Lord, Lord, please make me the good soil that I'm not allowing these thorns to grow up alongside me, because I live in a world and an industry, and I'm a sinner. And I'm predisposed to these things where I want to pursue the life's cares, riches and pleasures right where we. Where we can get choked out, right? The thorns can choke out the good root, the cares, the the pressure, the responsibility, the anxiety that comes with, you know, certainly being a business owner, but being it for me, a dad, being a husband, right, of of young kids and managing all of those things, the the riches and the pleasures that can come, the, the lifestyle, the comfort, the validation, the accumulation, the scale. The more all these things that can come alongside us and choke us out. I sincerely was asked the Lord, please let me be good soil not choked out by these thorns. But brothers and sisters, these are things we have to be aware of and we have to be having conversations about. Because the thorns don't kill the plant overnight, they grow alongside of it. In our business, there's nothing evil on it's own, right? Going out and selling more homes is an amazing thing. Building a bigger business is an amazing thing. Making more money is an amazing thing. But unchecked growth crowds out the fruit of these thorns that maybe we allow to grow up alongside us. These thorns that the industry, obviously or honestly just tries to give us and say, here's the things you should be in pursuit of. Those are thorns. I want us just to ask a couple honest questions. And wherever you are, wherever you're listening, whatever you're doing. Just ask yourself some some questions. What is your business requiring you to sacrifice right now? Who is quietly paying the price for your ambition? And if nothing changed? Where would your relationships be in ten years? Because I think. And brothers and sisters, remind yourselves of this. What I'm about to say and remind me often the most dangerous pursuits are the ones society applauds. Our pastor said it a couple Sundays ago and I was convicted. He said, are we living a life in pursuit of the applause of man, knowing that when we get to heaven we're not going to hear well done, good and faithful servant, because we're going to hear, hey, you already received the applause you were longing for. Or are we trying to live a life that ends with Jesus saying, well done, good and faithful servant? The world might not have applauded everything you did, but I did. The most dangerous pursuits are the ones that society applauds. You know, I think that we've got to reframe success, right? It's not just, uh, accumulation, it's stewardship. It's not just financial provision. It's presence, and it's fruit that remains. And the people that we choose to pour into, you know, this this is not a call to quit your ambition. It's a call to align it. Let me say that again. This isn't a call to quit your ambition. It is a call to align it. The pillars that I'm trying to build my life around, the pillars that I want this podcast to be built around. The pillars that I hope you will take on. Structure over hustle, presence without guilt and faith aligned success. It's not a call to quit your ambition. You were made to be ambitious. That's good and right and godly. But we must align it with our faith. We must give it structure. So we're not just running 24 over seven. We must know how to put leverage and pieces in place so we can be present with the people that we love. And when we choose not to work so we can be present, we don't feel the guilt that we're not there. You know, Daryl had money. He had a lot of it. He had pleasure. For a little while, he had success by the world's definition. But when that season changed and it caught up to him because it did. And it will. There was nothing left standing. The question isn't what you're building. It's what is it costing you? And if this has stirred something in you, my friends, because it has me, don't rush past it, sit with it, pray about it, and take an honest look at what's growing alongside your success. And if there's thorns, try to pluck them out. And honestly, if you need space to think through what alignment could look like in your next season of life, that's a conversation I'd love to have. Brothers and sisters, I love you all. Genuinely. I'm in pursuit of this with you, alongside of you. And it is my hope that as Christians in this industry, our lives, our businesses, our families would look different And that Christ would receive the glory and honor. I love you, faithful agents. I will see you next week. Hey Christian agent, I hope you enjoyed today's episode. If it resonated, would you take 30s and share it with another agent who's also trying to grow their business without losing their faith, family, or peace? That's how this message spreads. And if you haven't yet, hit that subscribe button so you don't miss future episodes. I release new ones each Thursday to help you build success that actually lasts. It genuinely fires me up knowing this podcast is helping you pursue excellence to the glory of God, both at work and at home. I'll meet you back here next week for another episode of The Faithful Agent.