February 25th, 2026
My dad was a fighter pilot instructor in World War II. When he returned home he got a job in real estate, loved it, and ultimately built one of the largest real estate firms in Cincinnati. While I was growing up, Dad talked about real estate most every evening at dinner: the deals, the chess game of it all. I was hooked. So, after graduating from law school, I joined his Cincinnati real estate firm.
But after months of hard work, I took exactly zero listings. I even played the boss's son card. "My dad owns the company, he'll give you extra advertising." It was a promise Dad had never authorized. Sellers smiled. They were kind. Then they listed with established agents.
After a few months, I was staring into a dark hole. I was starting to think I'd need to get a real job.
When Desperation Clarifies
Here's the thing about failure: it clears the mind like nothing else. And from that desperation spawned an idea: I should stop trying to sell me and begin selling a program.
I called it "Make Every Agent Your Listing Agent." The concept was simple and radical. Back then, a typical commission was 7%. The listing broker kept 4%, the buyer's agent got 3%. My model flipped the script: I offered the entire 7% to whichever agent brought the buyer. If I found the buyer myself, I earned the full 7%. If someone else did, they got it all, and I got nothing on that sale.
I marketed it on a flyer like this:
"MAKE EVERY AGENT YOUR LISTING AGENT.
There is a new program in Cincinnati for selling your home. You no longer have to list with just one agent. You can now have them all. To learn how give me a call."
I printed the names of the top agents in town right on the flyer. Then I hit shopping center parking lots, tucking flyers under windshield wipers like a man on a mission.
The phone started ringing with sellers who wanted to learn more. When I explained the program, they all loved the concept but had one question: "What's in it for you?"
My answer was simple: “I can't be a ‘lazy lister.’ I earn money by finding the buyer. But if a better buyer at a higher price comes through another agent? That's fine too. You'll likely buy your next home through me and refer friends and neighbors to me. It’s a win-win, right?” They always nodded.
Ten Listings in a Row
With that program, I listed the next ten homes in a row. Nobody could say no. Through open houses, I personally found the buyer for a few and earned the full 7%. The rest were sold by other agents who got the 7%, just like they were the listing agent who found their own buyer. It worked out, because many of those sellers bought a home through me and sent me referrals.
Then Dad summoned me into his office. He was furious. "What are you doing giving away our list-side commission? Every agent in the company is upset. They say the boss's son has gone rogue."
I walked him through the numbers: new listings, buyer commissions, referrals, momentum. He leaned back. Paused. "I can see why it works. It's creative." Then came the sentence that tattooed itself onto my brain: "You still have to stop. I have 300 agents to worry about, not just you.”
That was the day I learned that established businesses, even ones built by mavericks, are naturally resistant to significant and disruptive change. My dad had been a pioneer himself. He'd built everything from nothing through hard work and street smarts. But when you're responsible for 300 agents and multiple offices, the calculus shifts. What's bold for one person becomes dangerous for the institution. He wasn't wrong. He was just protecting what he'd spent a lifetime building.
When Desperation Unlocks Genius
There is a specific kind of genius that only desperation unlocks. Not the motivational-poster kind. The raw, cornered-animal kind, where the only options are figure it out or starve.
When you're staring into that dark hole, something shifts. You stop copying the herd. You start scanning for the gap in the herd. You build something a specific group of people looks at and says, "That is so much better than the way it's been done, and it will work for me."
If you know someone with an entrepreneurial vision but no lifeline, don't feel sorry for them. That pressure, that beautiful, terrifying pressure, is the forge where the sharpest ideas get made.
Most of the world's greatest breakthroughs weren't born in comfort. They were born in the exact moment someone decided that failure was no longer an option.
