I’m writing this from the road—somewhere between Michigan and Texas.
17 years in real estate… and I still find myself doing the same thing I did in the beginning, getting out of my environment, meeting people, and pursuing opportunity when it shows up.
This morning I woke up near Memphis, Tennessee. Grabbed breakfast at the hotel and hit the hotel. Ended up stopping off somewhere in north Texas. The handmade sign had a simple message. BBQ. Met a son and father sitting across from me. Dad and son just spent the day fishing.
I seen the 2500 GMC out front like mine, and it was a pulling a bass boat so I immediately sparked up a conversation. We talked for 10 minutes about fishing. What lakes are the best, what bait, type of boats we had.
Nothing crazy.
But it reminded me of something simple that most people forget:
Opportunity doesn’t always show up in a spreadsheet… it shows up in conversations.
That 10 minute talk made me think about the times i’d fish with my late father. It made me feel at home even though I was in the middle of nowhere…
That’s how this whole trip started.
Years ago, I met a guy through a podcast interview. We stayed in touch. That turned into a friendship. That turned into over $15 million in deals together. Ups and Downs, we are still striving.
Now he’s down in Texas building an paving empire and air hangar community on 120 acres—and I’m driving down to meet him, close on another deal, and start planning a couple builds inside that airpark project.
That’s how this business actually works.
Not sitting still. Not overthinking.
Moving. Talking. Staying open.
Here’s the problem I’m seeing right now…
A lot of real estate entrepreneurs are stuck.
Not because they’re lazy.
Not because they don’t know what they’re doing.
But because they’ve tied their identity to one version of themselves.
“I’m a flipper.”
“I’m a multifamily guy.”
“I only do this.”
And in this market… that mindset will kill you.
I learned this the hard way.
Over the last few years, like a lot of you, I loaded up on deals when money was cheap. Then rates shot up. Markets went into a coma. Capital calls hit. Deals that looked great on paper turned into pressure to say this least. Actually it was hell on earth for those of you that can relate!.
At one point, I realized something:
If I stay locked into one lane… I don’t just stall out, I implode.
So I went back to what my mentor taught me early on:
Real estate isn’t one tool.
It’s a tool belt.
SF Flips. Rentals. Land. Development. Commercial. Weird deals like the cell tower site im buying. Off-market opportunities.
You don’t marry one, you use the one that fits the moment.
That’s what I mean when I say:
Bend. Don’t break. Learn to weave.
The deal I’m heading to right now is a perfect example.
It’s a simple one-acre property with a small warehouse… and a cell tower on it paying income day one.
Not something I was “looking for.”
But it’s cash flow.
It’s easy upside.
It’s optionality.
We can clean it up, increase value, hold it, triple-net it, or flip it.
That’s the game now.
Not forcing deals.
Positioning yourself to move when the right one shows up.
So here’s what I want you to do.
Run a quick audit.
Be honest with yourself:
Is your identity controlling your business?
Or are you actually adapting to what the market is giving you?
Are you chasing opportunity…
Or are you stuck trying to prove you were right about something that used to work?
And second
Does your business still give you energy?
Or is it draining the life out of you?
Because if it’s draining you… something’s off.
For me, burnout hit hard.
Years of grinding. Flipping hundreds of deals. Building too fast without a kill switch.
I finally got bloodwork done after I was hit w/ the Fauci flu and realized, I wasn’t just tired… I was running on empty. Like a fried egg.
Low energy. Low output. Mentally fried.
Trump would have called me low energy Steve over those few months!
That was a wake-up call.
If you want to operate at a high level in this market, your health isn’t optional.
It’s the foundation.
Second shift: leverage.
Most guys I know are still doing too much themselves. They are the classic lone wolf operator.
You don’t need more hustle, you need better systems and partners.
AI alone is changing the game.
Simple example—guys I know are saving tens of thousands just by using it to handle things like NNN lease edits, operating agreements, marketing and everyday tasks they used to outsource to staff, they can execute immediately without thinking about it anymore.
That’s real leverage.
Third: partnerships.
If you’re trying to do everything alone, you’re capping your upside.
Period.
Every major move I’ve made came from working with the right people.
And no, you don’t need to bring everything to the table.
But you do need to bring value. Deals. Capital. Resources. Ideas and Strategies.
That’s the trade.
This is what FreedomStack is about.
Not hype. Not theory.
Real shifts that move you forward, fast. I call it freedomstack. It was never just 1 thing. I always had to get multiple things aligned before the fruit would show up in my life.
If you’re feeling stuck, burned out, or like the game changed on you just when you got going…
It did.
The question is, are you going to adapt with it?
If you want the exact framework I’ve been using to reset, refocus, and move forward fast
Go grab the guide:
And if you want to go deeper
I’m doing one-hour Zoom calls where we break down your portfolio, your strategy, and where you’re getting stuck.
No pitch. No pressure.
Just real conversation.
I’m on the road right now, same as a lot of you, figuring it out, making moves, adjusting in real time.
But you do need to move.
Bend. Don’t break.
Let’s build.
Talk Soon,
Steve
book recommendation:
