The Pivot Year

A figure sits in contemplation inside a glowing, egg like structure, symbolizing growth and reflection during a transformative pivot year.

This year felt… weird.

Not bad. Not great. Just confusing as hell.

If you asked me at the end of 2024 what 2025 was going to look like, I would’ve been completely wrong. I thought I had a direction. I thought I knew what I was building toward. And then the year started, and almost immediately, that picture fell apart.

And if you’re reading this feeling like the plan you had no longer fits, I want you to know that doesn’t mean you’re doomed. It usually means you’re listening to yourself.

I didn’t enter this year thinking I’d be in real estate. It wasn’t some lifelong dream or carefully calculated move. I went to a real estate meeting with it slightly in mind, more out of curiosity. That meeting cracked something open. I saw people working for themselves. People who didn’t answer to a boss, didn’t clock in or out, didn’t live their lives waiting for weekends. I saw people who controlled their time and, honestly, made more money than anyone who had given their lives to a corporation.

A tiny green seedling emerges from the rich soil, displaying the beginning of new life in the garden.

That planted a seed.

I went for it. Four months later, I had my license. Passed the test first try, which still feels good. It felt like momentum. Like, okay, maybe this is it. But what I didn’t realize was how quiet the next phase would be.

The rest of the year didn’t look like wins. It looked like showing up every day and not really knowing what the fuck I just did. Making videos. Writing blogs. Hosting open houses. Reworking my website for the hundredth

time. Thinking I was onto something one day, then questioning everything the next.

This is the part people don’t show you when they talk about entrepreneurship.

When you’re building from nothing, there’s no roadmap. Everything feels important, which makes it overwhelming. If you zoom out too far, you’ll convince yourself you’re behind. So I learned to zoom in.

Just the next step. Just today. Just keep going.

I had a transaction fall through. I thought that was going to be the moment things finally clicked. Instead, it became another reminder that this path doesn’t hand you rewards just because you’re trying hard.

But, it does reward you for staying.

Somewhere in the middle of all that uncertainty, something else was happening.

A silhouette leaps boldly across a vibrant, colorful landscape, capturing the essence of feeling truly alive amidst a dynamic, abstract background.

I felt alive.

Even with no money. Even with stress. Even with doubt. I felt more me than I had in years. I was creating. Learning. Talking to people. Building something that actually reflected who I am. That feeling, mattered more than the numbers ever could.

If your life feels harder but more honest at the same time, you’re probably on the right track.

What really kept me going wasn’t discipline or motivation. It was people.

Friends who supported my content. Family who didn’t question my timeline. A relationship that made me feel safe to express myself. There were so many moments this year where I was carried by belief that wasn’t even mine.

That matters, because no one takes a leap alone, even if it looks that way from the outside.

If I had to go back, I’d do it all over again.

That’s how I know this year mattered.

On the surface, it looks like little growth. No big financial wins. No flashy milestones. But underneath? I was building a foundation. Learning how to sit in uncertainty. Learning how to trust myself. Learning where my energy actually belongs.

If you’re tempted to judge your year by numbers alone, income, titles, milestones, I’d encourage you to pause.

Ask yourself instead:

• Did I pivot toward something more aligned?

• Did I build skills, confidence, or clarity I didn’t have before?

• Did I choose courage over comfort?

This wasn’t a breakthrough year.

It was a setup year.

The kind that doesn’t make sense until later, when things start moving fast and people say, “Wow, that came out of nowhere.”

It didn’t.

Beneath the tree, a network of illuminated roots stretches into the earth, weaving a mesmerizing pattern of light and life within the forest.

The roots were just growing underground.

And if you’re standing at the edge of something right now, unsure, underprepared, but curious, maybe this is your sign.

You don’t need the full plan. You just need the courage to plant the seed.