You Didn't Get Here Alone.

by Lyle Wilks

You Didn't Get Here Alone

It's November, which means we're entering that time of year when we start thinking about what's next.

We're planning for 2027. Setting goals. Thinking about how many homes we want to sell, how much money we want to make, and what we want to accomplish.

And there's nothing wrong with any of that. I'm a big believer in having goals and being ambitious.

But before we get too caught up in where we're going, I think we need to take a minute and look at where we've been.

More importantly, who helped us get here?

Because here's the reality: No matter how hard you've worked or how much you've accomplished, you didn't get here alone.

We Like to Think We're Self-Made

I've worked some long days building my business. I've made sacrifices, taken risks, and put in plenty of hours when I probably should've been doing something else.

And I know many of you have done the same.

It's easy to look at what we've accomplished and think about all the work we put in to make it happen.

But here's something I've had to remind myself.

I couldn't have stayed out showing houses until 10 o'clock at night if someone hadn't trusted me enough to let me help them buy or sell their home.

I couldn't have grown First Call Realty without people in our community choosing to support us.

And I certainly couldn't run the company we have today without people like Carol Andrews and Marlo Wilks helping lead our two offices.

Yes, hard work matters. Discipline matters. Ambition matters.

But none of us got here entirely on our own.

We may be self-motivated, but we're rarely self-made.

Somebody Took a Chance on You

I think back to when First Call Realty got its very first agent.

At the time, it was just me and my mom, Marlo. Honestly, we were more of a real estate team than a brokerage.

I remember having the conversation with Mom about whether we were even ready to bring on an agent.

Could we provide enough value? Did we have the time to invest in someone else's success? Were we really ready for that responsibility?

We didn't have all the resources or systems that some of the larger brokerages had.

What we did have was a commitment to being the best we possibly could, learning every day, and doing right by people.

And for whatever reason, Leah Willis saw something in us.

She became our first agent.

Looking back, I don't think I realized just how much her decision to trust us with her career would mean to the future of First Call Realty.

She was the beginning of something that would eventually grow into the company we have today.

To this day, I don't know exactly what Leah saw in us back then. You'd have to ask her.

But I'm sure glad she did.

I can also think back to early in my career when clients were trusting a young guy with a real estate license to help them buy and sell $700,000 and $800,000 lake homes.

They saw something in me that, at the time, I probably didn't even see in myself.

And I bet if you stop and think about it, you have people like that in your story, too.

Someone who gave you your first opportunity.

Someone who sent you a referral.

Someone who believed in you when you were still figuring things out.

The question is, do those people know how much they mean to you?

Being Grateful Isn't the Same as Showing Gratitude

I think most of us are genuinely grateful for the people in our lives.

The problem is that we assume they already know it.

And that's a dangerous assumption to make in any relationship.

Think about your spouse or someone you love. They probably know you love them, right?

But it makes a heck of a difference when you actually tell them and show them.

Gratitude works the same way.

You can appreciate someone all day long, but if you never take the time to express it, how are they supposed to know?

One of the things that means the most to me is receiving a handwritten card.

I've got them hanging all over my office.

And it's not about the recognition.

It's about the effort.

In a world where everything is instantaneous and we're constantly looking for the easy button, somebody took the time to sit down, write something meaningful, buy a stamp, and put it in the mail.

They went out of their way to make sure I knew they appreciated me.

That's something I don't forget.

And I think there's a lesson in that for all of us.

Being grateful is how you feel. Showing gratitude is what you do about it.

Don't Let Ambition Make You Forget

I think one of the dangers of being ambitious is that we can become so focused on accomplishing the next thing that we forget to appreciate what's already around us.

The next closing.

The next listing.

The next goal.

The next milestone.

And before we know it, we're so focused on what we're trying to build that we overlook the people who are helping us build it.

I've been guilty of that myself.

Not because I wasn't grateful, but because I got caught up in the work and forgot to slow down long enough to show it.

And I think that's something we all need to check ourselves on from time to time.

Because the relationships we have aren't just what help us build successful businesses.

They're a big part of what makes those businesses worth building in the first place.

Before You Plan What's Next...

As we head into Thanksgiving and start planning for another year, I've got a challenge for you.

Before you write down everything you want to accomplish in 2027, take a few minutes and write down three names.

Someone who believed in you before you had much reason to believe in yourself.
Someone who made a difference in your business or life this year.
Someone you've probably taken for granted and haven't shown enough appreciation.

Then do something about it.

Pick up the phone. Write a handwritten note. Take someone to lunch.

And here's the important part.

Don't ask for anything.

No referral request. No business conversation. No hidden agenda.

Just let them know how much you appreciate them and why.

Because none of those people had to give you their time, their trust, or their support.

They chose to.

And that choice helped you become who you are today.

Don't become so focused on the people you need to meet that you forget about the people who helped you get here.

This Thanksgiving, let's make sure we're doing more than just being grateful.

Let's actually show it.