How to Keep Moving Forward Through Adversity with Athena Brownson | The Resilient RE Agent Ep. 14

🎧 Listen on your favorite platform: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4O78... Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... “There were gonna be days where the biggest thing that I was able to accomplish was moving from the bed to the couch, but I’m gonna accomplish that.” In this episode of The Resilient Real Estate Agent, Athena Brownson shares how she kept moving forward through professional injuries, the loss of her identity as a skier, chronic illness, and some of the darkest seasons of her life. Athena grew up in Breckenridge, Colorado, and became a professional skier at 15. After years of competing and pushing her body to its limits—including nine ACL injuries, a broken neck, and multiple other injuries—she was forced to confront the question: Who am I outside of skiing? She eventually found her way into real estate, where she built a successful career based on relationships, service, mentorship, and persistence. Then, after another neck surgery, Athena developed serious health challenges that left her dealing with chronic fatigue, pain, infections, and severe limitations in her daily life. At times, she had to live in an RV, work with limited access to technology, and create extremely small goals just to get through the day. Athena explains how micro-goals, support, delegation, communication, and a willingness to accept help allowed her to continue serving clients and rebuilding her life. This conversation is a powerful reminder that resilience does not always look like dramatic progress. Sometimes it looks like getting out of bed, brushing your teeth, sending one message, asking for help, and taking one more step forward. 🔑 What you'll learn in this episode: Keep Moving Forward in Small Steps: How micro-goals can help you make progress when larger goals feel impossible. Life Is Happening For You, Not To You: How changing your perspective can help you move through painful and uncertain seasons. Do Not Go Through Adversity Alone: Why accepting support and clearly communicating what you need can change everything. Build a Personal Toolkit: How music, routines, simple habits, and small daily actions can help you get through difficult days. Learn to Delegate: Why allowing other people to help can strengthen your personal life, your business, and the way you serve clients. Be Coachable: How mentorship and a willingness to learn can accelerate your growth. Mourn, Forgive, and Let Go: Why processing loss and grief can be necessary before you can truly move forward. Turn Challenges Into Strength: How difficult experiences can eventually become tools that help you serve other people. ⏱️ Timestamps: 0:23 - Welcome and Meet Athena Brownson 3:51 - Athena’s Professional Skiing Career 6:30 - Leaving Skiing and Facing an Identity Crisis 8:26 - Finding Real Estate and Relationship-Based Business 10:27 - Lyme Disease and Chronic Health Challenges 13:29 - Facing the Darkest Moments 16:19 - Continuing to Work Through Adversity 18:20 - Learning to Delegate and Ask for Help 21:03 - How to Support Someone Who Is Struggling 28:23 - Coaching, Support, and Learning to Ask for Help 30:06 - Delegation and Growing a Healthy Business 36:17 - Micro-Goals and Moving Forward One Step at a Time 41:32 - How Small Habits Create Long-Term Change 47:05 - Lessons in Resilience, Coaching, and Support 49:57 - Mourning, Forgiving, and Letting Go 51:34 - Continuing Forward Through Adversity 53:20 - Final Thoughts CONNECT WITH ATHENA BROWNSON: LinkedIn:   / athenabrownsonrealtor   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/athenabrown... Facebook:   / athena.brownson   📅 Book a FREE strategy call with Dan & Allison: https://calendly.com/dangomer/let-s-chat Thank you for watching! What resonated with you the most? What is one small thing you can do today to keep moving forward? Share it in the comments. We are here to give you the tools and wisdom to do less and get more in your life and business! Please share this channel and help us get the word out! SUBSCRIBE ➡️ The Resilient Real Estate Agent FOLLOW: Instagram: realto_partners Facebook: dangomerspeaks LinkedIn: dan-gomer CONTACT: DAN GOMER | SPEAKER, AUTHOR & REAL ESTATE LEADER 📞 (303) 261-5278 📧 DanielGomer1@gmail.com 🌐 www.realtopartners.com #realestate #realestateagent #mindset #resilience #adversity #realestatepodcast #realestatecoaching #dangomer #personalgrowth #microgoals #leadership #keepmovingforward