I bought my first house at 19, not because I had grand ambitions or a clear path ahead, but because I stayed up late one night and bought a Carlton Sheets program I saw on an infomercial. By 22, I had bought and renovated multiple homes and earned my real estate license. What I didn’t know then was that those early experiences would ignite a career that has become so much more than just about real estate.

At 20, I stepped into the world of real estate as an assistant to one of Orlando’s top-producing agents. It was a time before sleek tools and advanced technology, when everything was manual, and I thrived in the process. From designing marketing materials with glue sticks to navigating the old DOS-based MLS system, I felt invigorated, not overwhelmed.

The funny thing though was what stood out to me more than the structure and grind of the work... it was how stressed so many people in the industry seemed. That stress didn’t come from just the workload either... it seemed deeper, more rooted. At the time, I didn’t fully understand it, I just knew I wanted to do real estate differently for myself.

Much of my drive to "be different" came from my childhood. My parents both hated their jobs and complained about it constantly. I vowed I would never work in a field I hated. On top of that, the house I grew up in was an environment where emotions weren’t just dismissed; they were punished. I learned early that crying caught a physical beating and my openness, my sensitivity, and my refusal to hide how I felt made me a target for shame and ridicule. “You’re weak and I'm strong,” my mother would say, “you’ll never make it in the world without your little brother taking care of you," and, "you better hope you marry somebody rich." I was constantly picked at, publicly humiliated, and attacked while growing up... not by the kids in school, but by my parents. Those words and scars stay with you. They creep into how you think about yourself, how you approach challenges, and how you define your worth. When you grow up in chaos, you start to internalize it, and you drag it with you into adulthood without even realizing it. For me, that chaos manifested as clutter, anxiety, and panic attacks that felt like they would consume me whole. Every day was a complete surprise as to how I would feel and whether or not I was capable of accomplishing anything. If I was driven by anything back then, it was to prove I was not who or what my parents said I was.

Of course I pushed through it all, not because I had everything figured out, but because I didn’t have a choice. When I went from assistant to agent to owner of one of the first virtual assistant organizations in the country, and then eventually transitioned into coaching, I still felt like I didn't know what I was doing, like I had no real value, and I was always on edge, waiting for someone to figure it out. It didn't matter that I had already acquired over 40 brokerage-wide corporate clients across the country that my company managed all the marketing work for, or that I had been featured in national magazines, or found myself speaking on the stage at NAR's big conference on two separate occasions, all by the time I was 30 years old. I had achieved amazing things but I was completely broken inside. I knew I needed to do something to help myself and the kicker was that what I heard as a coach, over and over, was my agents would say to me, “I know what to do… I just don’t do it,” and the more I listened, the more familiar their stories became. Rooted in their struggles were all the threads I recognized in my own life. Patterns shaped by fear, trauma, early loss, abuse, self-doubt, and years of conditioning to believe they weren’t enough.

Coaching didn’t immediately bring clarity though... it brought questions. Why were so many of us stuck in these cycles? Why couldn’t we break free? It became clear to me that these weren’t problems to “fix”; they were wounds to heal, not just for my clients, but for myself. That realization marked the beginning of years of deep, personal work. I immersed myself in learning everything I could about trauma, healing, the science of energy and flow, psychology, and even nutrition. I earned certifications in integrative health, trauma-informed coaching, and several other disciplines because I didn’t just want tools for others... I needed them for me.

Through that work and over years of self-healing and hundreds of case-studies with my agent clients, I developed Productive Flow. It’s not a productivity system or a step-by-step strategy. Instead, it’s a deeply personal process of reversing the flow of how you operate in the world. Many of us move through life reacting to our emotions, letting them dictate our energy, how we spend time, and where we place focus. What I’ve learned is that when you shift this, when you start with focus, something I call your unique heartprint, which is way bigger and deeper than any "big why" you've ever set for yourself, and work backward, you can intentionally change a lifetime of patterns. You can heal and clear all the clutter, not just in your space, in your life, or in your work... but in your soul.

Over the years, stages and magazines have continued to welcome me and my acquired wisdom along with several podcasts. I've consulted for organizations around the world that wanted to better understand how to connect with agents. My insights into the emotions and behaviors of agents across the U.S. market have helped companies rethink their messaging and strategies, so they resonate with the people they serve. I’ve seen what works, but more importantly, I know what doesn’t.

Today, aside from my work here with Productive Flow, I also serve as the Georgia Managing State Broker for ENRG Realty. It’s more than just a leadership role for me. It’s an opportunity to co-create a culture that values both professional growth and personal transformation, especially from the perspective of the brokerage itself. A culture where we don’t just talk about numbers and contracts, but also about humanity. My role ensures compliance and professionalism, sure, but just as importantly, it allows me to mentor agents in a way that honors their whole selves. Because I know that behind every real estate transaction they produce is a person whose fears, hopes, and history matter.

This isn’t just a career for me... it’s personal. I’ve sat in the same physical and emotional chaos that traps so many agents. I’ve felt the weight of not feeling “enough,” of wondering if I was too much, or both at the same time. I’ve unraveled my own beliefs and changed the stories I grew up with. That’s why I show up every day... for the agents who are stuck in those cycles, and for anyone ready to share in the kind of transformation that not only changes their business but touches every corner of their life.

Real estate is about more than buying and selling homes. It’s about people and when you invest in their wholeness, the ripple effect is limitless. That's why I do what I do, and I wouldn’t trade this work for the world.