Success in Real Estate

I bought a home in Lakeland Florida in 2000 and moved to Florida in 2001 full time after selling my automotive business in NW Ohio (Findlay) I was just 49 at the time and had 1 daughter in college and 3 school age children at home so retirement wasn't in the cards.
I had no idea what I wanted to do and had interviewed with a few local car dealers and was going to continue in the automotive business. To be honest I wasn't in any hurry to get back to work full time.
My new home was in a gated sub-division (Emerald Ridge) and I was out jogging when a gentleman flagged me down and introduced himself. It turns out he was a Real Estate Broker and he eventually convinced me that Real Estate was the way to go.
In 2000 the market was soft and interest rates were relatively high, not the best time to enter the business for sure. I was new to the area and had no circle of influence so my work was cut out for me for sure.
This will be the first of a series of blogs that will elaborate on what things I learned and how I was able to build a successful career. I welcome comments (be kind lol) and encourage followers!