Jason Fox · Reinvent
I’ve Had to Reinvent Myself More Than Once.
I lost my mom when I was 15. I got sober when I was 30. I taught myself marketing, then learned how to build a real estate career and businesses around it.
Now I’m 53, living in a different state and figuring out what comes next.
Some changes were choices. Others were things I had to find my way through. Each one meant learning how to live a little differently.
HERE’S SOME OF MY STORY ↓
At 30, I Wasn’t Trying to Build an Empire.
When I got sober, my goals were pretty simple.
I wanted to get my driver’s license back. Get car insurance. Have my own place. Be a good person and a good citizen.
I couldn’t picture the life I would eventually build. Honestly, I was trying to figure out the next step.
That’s how it happened. One step, then another.
Eventually, a friend gave me an opportunity to learn the mortgage business. That led me to a mentor, a marketing business, and work that gave me something to get excited about.
I didn’t have the whole plan. I had a place to start.
That’s something I try to remember when I’m looking at another uncertain chapter.
Marketing Gave Me Something to Build.
Through my twenties, I sold a little bit of everything. But I started wanting something different. I wanted to create something.
Marketing gave me that opportunity.
I could build a campaign. Develop an idea. Help someone explain what made their business valuable. Teach myself something, try it, and see what happened.
It gave me purpose, motivation, and inspiration. Somewhere along the way, I realized, “Hey, I’m pretty good at this.”
That work eventually became Jason Fox Marketing. Later, I wondered what would happen if I applied those same skills to my own real estate career.
So I did.
The marketing, the real estate business, the systems, and this website all connect to that same part of me. I love taking an idea and building something useful from it.
I Built More Than I Could Comfortably Carry.
As the businesses grew, I kept taking on more. I believed I could handle it, and for a long time I kept pushing.
Eventually, I realized I had built more than I could comfortably carry. I needed to take responsibility for that and make some different choices.
There were accomplishments along the way. Awards. Recognition. Things I had worked hard for.
I thought those things would fill me up. Sometimes, they left me feeling emptier.
I’m proud of what I helped build. I also understand now that growth and achievement don’t automatically give me the life I want.
For me, success has to include how I get to spend my days. Enough income to take care of what matters, time with the people I love, and room to enjoy being alive.
I’m still learning how to put that into practice.
For me, success has to include how I get to spend my days.
JASON FOX · STILL FIGURING IT OUT
I’ve Had to Rebuild My Health, Too.
About five years ago, I had a heart attack.
I remember my heart doctor looking at me and telling me I was pre-diabetic and obese. I really didn’t like being called obese. But I had been around the 300-pound mark, and that conversation got my attention.
I started researching GLP-1 medications, including Ozempic. I got a prescription and started taking the medication. I lost a lot of weight, eventually getting down to about 225 pounds.
At that weight, I felt too skinny. I wanted to build some muscle again, so I went back to lifting weights. I’ve been lifting consistently for about four years now.
But this wasn’t my first time doing something like that.
I’d Been Here Before.
I was thin growing up. Then, around 18, I was eating McDonald’s every day and, as I look back on it, treating myself like a garbage can. I put on a lot of weight.
I came up with my own version of a “Subway diet,” before I’d ever heard of such a thing. A six-inch turkey sub with oil, vinegar, and vegetables became my regular choice, and I lost a bunch of weight.
I remember being at work one day, feeling pretty good about being thin, when someone told me I was too skinny.
Other people’s comments about my appearance have always carried a lot of weight with me. For me, being autistic is part of that story. I’ve often struggled to judge my own image and leaned heavily on how other people saw me.
That comment helped push me toward lifting weights. I lifted pretty consistently from 18 through 30, and kept going after I got sober. Later, as family life got busier, that routine fell away and the weight came back.
So returning to the gym after the heart attack was a reinvention of the reinvention.
Taking care of my health belongs in the life I’m trying to build. I’ve had to find my way back to it more than once.
Understanding Myself Changed the Picture.
Finding out I’m autistic filled in a lot of gaps.
I had always struggled with things I couldn’t explain. Making and keeping friends. Fitting into social situations. Understanding why some parts of work and relationships felt so difficult.
I could learn complicated things and solve problems, but I couldn’t understand why other things kept getting in my way. I turned a lot of that confusion into criticism of myself.
Understanding that I’m autistic gave me a different way to look at those experiences.
Sometimes it feels like my superpower. Sometimes it feels like my kryptonite. It depends on the situation.
Knowing myself better helps me recognize what works for me, what drains me, and where I need to do things differently.
One funny example: I probably would have told you I didn’t like routines. It turns out I love them. I just hadn’t understood that about myself.
I wish I’d had some of this understanding earlier. I’m glad I have it now.
Life in this chapter
What a Good Day Looks Like Now.
Sarah and I had talked about living somewhere sunnier for a long time. Seattle winters were hard on both of us.
Her parents live in Tucson, and being closer to them mattered to her. I wanted to support that, and I was ready to try something different too.
We had even considered Costa Rica. Tucson felt like a change we could actually make.
These days, a good day can be pretty ordinary.
Getting Outside. Getting Stronger.
I’ve been lifting weights consistently for about four years. I hike, golf, and make time for recovery meetings. I’m learning to appreciate the routines that help me feel like myself.
Work With Some Flexibility.
I get up and work from home. Some days are still eight or nine hours, but I can take a break for errands or the other things life needs.
Time With My People.
Dinner, a show, or a walk with Sarah. Visiting her parents and walking Oliver. Hearing her dad play with his bands around town.
I’m trying to build routines that make room for the rest of my life too. Those ordinary things belong in my definition of success.
MORE ABOUT THE MOVE FROM SEATTLE TO TUCSON →If this sounds familiar
Maybe You’re Trying to Figure Some of This Out Too.
There’s a lot of struggling in real estate that doesn’t make it into the marketing.
Maybe you’re working hard and the results aren’t there. Maybe the results are there, but you’re still unhappy.
Maybe you’re wondering whether an introvert can do this business. Whether being neurodivergent changes what’s possible. Whether you can build a career while also taking care of your recovery, your health, or yourself.
I know what it feels like to question whether there’s something wrong with you.
I can share the struggles I’ve had, what helped, what didn’t, and what I’m trying now. My hope is that something in my experience helps you see a possibility for yourself.
You don’t need to have your whole future figured out to take a step toward it.
The Next Chapter
I’m Still Building What Comes Next.
Right now, that includes marketing, creating the 14 Systems resources, helping people explore a move from Seattle to Tucson, and building a business that gives me more room to live.
I’m bringing my experience with me. I’m also leaving room to change my mind and learn something new.
That’s what I share in The Next Chapter: thoughts about marketing, business, technology, and figuring out how we want to spend our lives.
If any of this sounds familiar, I’d love to have you along.
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