This week’s Breakthrough episode is a little different: I’m sharing the keynote I delivered at the 2025 RE/MAX Canada Young Leaders Network Conference in St. John’s, Newfoundland—a talk that’s as raw as it is real.

It’s called Building a Lifestyle-Based Business, but it could just as easily be called How to Keep Going When You’re Burnt Out, Tapped Out, and Questioning Everything. I open up about my own mental health struggles—panic attacks, anxiety, depression—and what it means to be a “depressed motivational speaker” in a business that often rewards overwork and performance over well-being.

If you’ve ever looked at a top producer and thought, I want their numbers but not their life, this one’s for you.

🔹 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

✅ Why 9 out of 10 REALTORS® are secretly struggling
✅ How to set financial goals that actually support your lifestyle
✅ Why “balance” isn’t something you find—it’s something you do
✅ How to calculate your Effective Hourly Rate (and why it should guide your calendar)
✅ The 4 productivity zones: Swamp, Campfire, Climb, and Summit
✅ A simple exercise to get 10 hours a week back—without your business missing a beat

🔹 Bumper Sticker Worthy Quotes:

💡 “Balance as a noun is make believe. Balancing as a verb is achievable.” – Braden Wheatcroft
💡 “What good is a map if you don’t know where you are?” – Braden Wheatcroft (on goal setting)
💡 “Awards and recognition are a pat on the back on the way to what matters.” – Braden Wheatcroft
💡 “You need to let go to grow.” – Braden Wheatcroft

🔹 Resources & Free Downloads:

📚 Try the Life in 100 Dots & Wheel of Life exercises from the keynote
🧮 Use the Resource Review to calculate your Effective Hourly Rate
🤖 Access the custom GPT link to walk through your business/lifestyle math
🎓 Join the On Demand Academy for full access to Braden’s tools & trainings

🔹 Next Steps:

Or rather, first steps…

✅ Audit your calendar: What gave you energy? What drained you? What paid you?
✅ Write down everything you did last week—and assign a dollar-per-hour value
✅ Revisit your financial goals through the lens of the lifestyle you want
✅ Start eliminating low-impact, low-energy tasks (your “swamp”)
✅ Shift your time toward your “summit” zone: high-impact, high-energy work

🔹 Connect with Us:🌎 Website: BradenWheatcroft.com
📱 Instagram: @bradenwheatcroft
📩 Email: [email protected]