Building a Life I Don't Need to Escape From

Sep 2

6 min read

A couple of years ago, I decided that I needed to get my work life balance more aligned with who I am today, as opposed to the younger entrepreneurial workhorse that I had been for so long. Victoria and I took a year off back in 2024 to travel the world, and it was on this trip that it became more and more evident that I was really burnt out from my career as a realtor. This job is highly demanding and it oftentimes requires that you are constantly available to other people, their schedules, and contract deadlines.

While I am incredibly grateful for what this career has been able to afford me and my family, producing at the level that I was is simply not sustainable for my nervous system or for some of the other goals I have for myself in life. After a lot of soul searching, therapy, and signs from the universe, I decided it was time to get really serious about getting my life more aligned with how I'd like it to look by scaling back my production to a level that is truly sustainable.

Chelsea with Abby
Chelsea with Abby
Chelsea with Victoria
Chelsea with Victoria
Chelsea with Stella in their porch area
Chelsea with Victoria

This began almost a year ago when I made the very difficult decision to move away from an incredibly talented and loyal full time assistant, Kyleigh, who I so adore. Kyleigh deserved to be making more money as our relationship continued; however, in order to continue paying her more, I needed to continue producing at a level that warranted having a full time assistant. Through several tough conversations, we ultimately decided that it was best to part ways. Don't worry - Kyleigh landed a killer job with a massive pay raise! After Kyleigh exited the business, I decided to hire a very talented full time assistant out of the Philippines where I'm able to have a comparable level of support for a fraction of the cost. Although no one could ever replace Kyleigh (literally she's a rockstar), I am super proud to say that I have been absolutely loving working with my new full time assistant, Fermin. This arrangement is more sustainable in the long-term for me.

Once I was able to figure out how to scale back my business expenses, the only thing that was left was the internal struggle of what it would be like to actually start selling less. It was at this point that I realized the only thing I would really lose by letting my production fall to a level that felt more sustainable was my ability to qualify for a home that we really wanted to be in. Around December of 2025, after several months of debate, I decided that I wanted to go ahead and find a home that would work well for Victoria, myself, and my father, for our next chapter of life. Victoria and I have been very seriously considering having kids (which requires a different space) and we also simply wanted to be in a home that was surrounded by more nature to find more peace in our daily lives.

Deciding to make this trade off between urban convenience and nature was not an easy decision and took us about four months to really settle into. Despite how much we love all of the amenities in Wheat Ridge/Edgewater, the call to be closer to nature was stronger than the love for our little urban oasis. After several months of searching, checking out different neighborhoods, and trying to find the perfect balance of cost, property type, location, and level of remoteness, we found an area of town that we absolutely adored. The neighborhood that felt the most right was the Willow Brook and Willow Springs neighborhoods in Morrison, Colorado.

We looked at every home that came on the market in these neighborhoods and I even began cold calling sellers to try to find someone who would sell to us who had a layout that would work for our family's specific needs. I networked with the agents I know who sell in the area which provided additional opportunities for us to explore. While weighing a very strong off-market contender, another property came on the market that seemed to be exactly what we were looking for, even if it came with a bit higher price tag. After taking Victoria and my dad to look at the property, as well as the off-market opportunity, we all came to the same conclusion that the property that was on the market was the best fit for us.

We quickly got an offer together and got it submitted over to the seller. Much to our despair, the seller decided to take a cash offer with a super quick close. However, we went ahead and submitted a very strong backup offer, which we hoped would incentivize the seller to not give up any money at inspection and therefore may encourage the buyer in the first place to terminate the deal. Once our backup offer was signed, all we had to do was wait. And hope.

During this waiting period, I went and saw a medium who told me that we were going to find the right home much sooner than we thought. She also said that it felt like it was going to be a situation where we didn't get the house the first time around, but that we would get it on the second time around. She had no idea that we had a backup offer out on a property that we were absolutely in love with. As much as I wanted to let myself get excited because we were so in love with this home, I wanted to save myself the trouble of a second round of heartbreak; and so I shoved those excited feelings deep down. About a week later, to our absolute surprise and delight, the first contract fell through and our backup offer moved into first position. Once we were under contract, all of the stars seemed to align; from the financing with my long term friend and go to lender Abby McDaniel, to the insurance policy that was written with my long term friend and insurance provider Lisa Arrison, to the seller giving us everything that we asked for at inspection, and the appraisal coming in $55,000 above the contract price.

It was apparent that the universe was signaling to us that we were exactly where we were supposed to be. On the day of closing, I was driving to the property to do a walkthrough and I could not stop crying. When I've hit past accomplishments in life, it's been really difficult to allow myself to fully feel the joy, the bliss and the satisfaction that should come along with that. However, there was something about this that felt different. It was an acceptance that I'm stepping into a very new chapter of my life and that I'm allowing myself to actually have things that I want, instead of constantly delaying gratification and investing all of my money into the stock market, rental properties, etc.

For the last 14 years, I've had my head down as an entrepreneur, working anywhere from 60 to 100 hours a week to build a mini empire of rental rental properties to put myself in a position where I could retire early. It feels surreal to have finally reached the stage in my life that I've been working so hard for, where I don't have to grind as hard as I have been. I can allow myself to rest, to relax, to recharge, and to truly enjoy the life around me. This house is going to be more than a home; it's a finish line and a beginning. It's a shift towards a higher calling of deeper fulfillment and of finding the beauty in presence.

If you're still reading, I just want to extend a heartfelt thank you. I thank you for not only reading this story, but for all of your love, support and loyalty along the way. On this journey, I had to make a lot of sacrifices.

Chelsea with her wife Victoria
Chelsea with Abby
Chelsea with Becca

I sacrificed relationships.

I sacrificed time with family and friends and things that brought me joy.

I sacrificed my health.

I sacrificed my peace of mind.

I know that for the people who have been in close contact with me over the last 14 years, I have not always been my best self towards others. I have been learning things the hard way at an exponential rate, and it wasn't pretty. I appreciate you sticking with me. I want to extend a thank you to my family, to my friends, and most especially, to my wife Victoria. I was not the only one who had to make sacrifices along the way and words will never be enough to express how grateful I am for those who have supported me through this journey.

Thank you, Victoria. Thank you, mom. Thank you, dad. Thank you, Alex. Thank you, Kyleigh. Thank you, Fermin. Thank you, Colin. Thank you, James. Thank you, Jeremy. Thank you, Abby. Thank you, Lisa. Thank you, Becca. Thank you, Brandon. And thank you to everyone else whom I have not listed who has been a part of the ride.

With Gratitude,

Chelsea

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