Having been in real estate for 20 years now, I still find the work to be exhilarating and full of much joy. When I dove into the profession, I was at a low point in my life after having been summarily fired from an executive position that I enjoyed tremendously at an employer who I loved deeply- St. Thom- as Hospital. But, with the change of the hospital CEO, he determined that he wanted someone else to head up the human resource function. Not only did it have financial implications, it was personally devastating and an embarrassment. Another healthcare organization in the city asked me to join their staff, but I declined. I wanted to be my own boss and control my destiny even though I didn’t have a clue what that would be. Then, I remembered how much I enjoyed an Adult Ed class in preparation for getting a real estate license 20 years earlier, yet I never sat for the exam.