In my individual coaching sessions and in some of my workshops I have come across a recurring scene: real estate agents with years in the market sit in front of me and tell me with total conviction that they have not progressed at all, that they are still in the same place doing the same thing, and that others around them are moving faster.
The paradox is that while they are saying this, I have in front of me professionals who have a portfolio of clients and who handle with ease issues that previously kept them up at night.
Then I ask them what they were like when they started, and there's almost always a silence. They smile and begin to reminisce about their first property visit, their voices trembling, the first client who slipped through their fingers, and their first commission, celebrated as if they'd won the lottery. Within minutes, the conversation shifts, and those who arrived saying they hadn't achieved anything end up listing everything they've built.
There I confirm something I've seen many times, which is that feeling stuck is almost never a problem of results, but of perspective, because the gaze of many advisors is always focused on what is missing, on the goal of the month, on the figure of the colleague who closes the most or on the client who still does not respond, and from there any progress feels tiny.
Nobody moves forward looking only at the rearview mirror, but no sensible driver does without it, because a timely glance is enough to confirm how much of the road has already been left behind.
There was a time when many of them couldn't explain a contract, and a single "no" from a client could ruin their entire week. Today, they handle buyers from other countries, negotiate with confidence, recognize a hesitant client within minutes, and recover from rejection much more quickly. None of this happened overnight; it accumulated with every call made, every mistake corrected, and every door that was difficult to open.
The problem is that this growth is rarely celebrated because the day-to-day grind swallows it up, and what once seemed like a mountain becomes routine and ceases to be seen as an achievement.
That's why I think it's worth taking the time to take an honest inventory of what you knew three years ago and what you know today, who you knew then and who you know now, what scared you and what you do now without thinking—a list that almost always surprises.
Looking back doesn't mean dwelling on nostalgia or becoming complacent, but rather gaining momentum, because those who recognize what they have built understand that they have the tools and dare to ask more of themselves.
If today you feel your progress is slow, pause and check the rearview mirror, because you might discover that you are not in the same place you started, that the landscape has changed and that the journey has already transformed you, and then look ahead again with the peace of mind of knowing that you will travel the road ahead with more experience, better judgment and more confidence than ever.
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