The Turn-Around

2009. Augusta, Kansas.

I'm walking home from my shift at the grocery store, and as I walk past Chrissy I think: ask her out.

And I keep walking.

Then I stopped, about half a mile away.

And I physically turned around on that sidewalk, walked back, and asked.

That woman has been my wife for over sixteen years now.

Spring 2014

Fast forward to the spring of 2014. I'm a rookie real estate agent who hasn't closed a single deal. Door-knocking in Ocean View on St. Patrick's weekend, because that's what you do when nobody knows your name yet.

A door doesn't answer. I leave my brochure and walk away.

And behind me, a man yells.

I'll be honest with you: people yell at salespeople who door-knock or call. I have been yelled at a lot. Every instinct I had said keep walking.

I turned around.

He said he was thinking about selling his home.

That man became my first client. My whole career started in that yard, though how it actually got there took a turn I'll tell you about on another Tuesday.

So here's the only wisdom I've got, and it cost me nothing but the courage to use my feet:

The voice behind you might be your whole future. Turn around.