You’ve seen it happen.
A new agent joins your brokerage, sits next to your top producer for six months, and suddenly they’re closing deals like a veteran. Meanwhile, another agent (equally talented on paper) works remotely, attends the occasional sales meeting, and struggles to gain traction.
What’s the difference? Proximity.
The Fire and the Water
Writer C.S. Lewis put it this way:
“If you want to get warm you must stand near the fire. If you want to be wet you must get into the water. If you want joy, power, peace, eternal life, you must get close to, or even into, the thing that has them.”
Lewis was talking about spiritual life, but the principle applies directly to business. You can’t learn a listing presentation by reading about it. You need to sit in the room while your top agent delivers one. MLOs don’t master difficult conversations through theory. They need proximity to deals, to underwriting challenges, to client anxiety in real time.
But here’s what Lewis understood that most of us miss: proximity isn’t just about getting close to the right things. It’s also about creating distance from the wrong things.
Which brings me to two questions that could reshape your business in the next 90 days.
Two Questions That Change Everything
Question one: Which activities, if doubled, would make your business meaningfully better?
Question two: Which activities, if halved, would make your business meaningfully better?
Sit with these for a minute. Your gut already knows the answers.
If You’re a Broker Owner:
What if you doubled your one-on-ones with your top 20% producers? What if you doubled the days you spend recruiting versus managing?
And what if you halved the administrative tasks you should have delegated six months ago? What if you halved the transactions you’re still touching personally?
If You’re a Recruiter:
What if you doubled your conversations with passive candidates? What if you doubled your time at industry events where top talent gathers?
And what if you halved the time you spend on agents who are never going to move? What if you halved the generic outreach messages?
If You’re a High-Performing Agent or MLO:
What if you doubled your prospecting hours? What if you doubled face time with your sphere and referral partners?
And what if you halved the appointments you should be delegating? What if you halved your time on social media consumption versus creation?
The answers are uncomfortable. And clarifying.
The Proximity Principle in Action
Here’s what this looks like practically: your business six months from now will be a direct reflection of what you doubled down on and what you cut in half this week.
If you want the results your top producer has, you need proximity to how they think, how they handle objections, how they structure their day. Reading their scripts isn’t enough. You need to be in the room.
If you want a breakthrough in recruiting, you need proximity to the conversations that convert, not just the theory of what should work.
If you want to scale, you need distance from the low-value tasks drowning your calendar.
Lewis was right. You become what you’re near. And you drift from what you avoid.
Your Move
This week, take 15 minutes and answer both questions for your role. Write down your top 5 activities by time spent. Run each one through the filter:
If I doubled this, would my business meaningfully improve? If I halved this, would my business meaningfully improve?
Then make one change. Double one thing. Halve one thing.
The fire is burning. The question is whether you’ll have the discipline to stand near it and step away from the water that’s drowning you.
