Trevor Bolin, a Realtor with Remax in Fort St. John, B.C., was diagnosed with cancer this past spring. He’s now running for mayor of the city in the Oct. 17 election. Photo: Trevor Bolin

Is it really the best idea to always put clients first?

This advice has received so much lip service that it’s become the industry mantra. But there’s a flip side. Consider the tip that it’s important to put on your oxygen mask in a plane before helping others with theirs, says Realtor and former Conservative Party of British Columbia leader Trevor Bolin.

“We’re committed and dedicated to our craft, and most importantly to our clients. But what about us? What about the forever-after?” says Bolin, who heads up a Remax franchise in his hometown of Fort St. John, along the Alaska Highway.

The forever-after looms large in Bolin’s thoughts these days. This past spring, at age 46 (“which should be the prime of my life,” he reflects), he was diagnosed with cancer. A stage 2 tumour was discovered blocking most of his colon.

 

A hard lesson to learn

 

A busy guy who’s made a lifestyle out of over-extending himself, he can’t recall a time when he wasn’t driven to succeed. Along with his real estate career and past role in provincial politics, he’s a long-time city councillor (“the person blamed for every problem in Fort St. John,” he jokes), owns a bunch of Burger Kings and is a self-published motivational author and father to two boys.

“If you don’t make time for your wellness, you will be forced to make time for your illness,” Bolin warns. “As much as people think it couldn’t happen to them, it can.”

That’s a lesson he’s learning the hard way.

“I spent a career putting myself third place, sometimes maybe fourth. I ignored symptoms. I was too busy to deal with my own health.”

He worked night and day. Last-minute showings and offers. Taking calls on vacation. Too much driving. Too much screen time. Too many late nights and working weekends.

“We need to change the way our industry evolves,” Bolin says. “We don’t need to live our lives in a state of emergency. There are no emergencies we can’t deal with in professional hours and a professional capacity. I’m not saying we should work 9-to-5 Monday to Friday like other professionals do. But we don’t need to act like an emergency department.”

After his wife talked him into getting a colonoscopy and he learned he had cancer, he soon realized that the diagnosis shouldn’t have come as a shock.

“The life of a Realtor, eating in the car between showings, the stress…the late-night drinks and early morning cigarettes. I can sit here and blame this tumour on hundreds of things. But it was one simple thing. And that was me not putting me first.”

He’s now learned “to listen to his body,” he believes. “Our health is the priority. We are no good to anyone dead.”

Don’t avoid medical tests and symptoms like he did, he strongly advises. “The more we know, the more we can protect ourselves.”

The tumour has been removed, along with his colon, 21 lymph nodes and the lining of his abdominal wall. The cancer has been “stopped in its tracks,” he tells this writer.

On Facebook he posts, “Somewhere in the future, the person you’re becoming is quietly thanking you for not giving up today.”

While doing further research, I discover that Bolin is now running for mayor of Fort St. John in the city’s upcoming Oct. 17 election.

“Did I see that you’re running for mayor?” I message him. “You’re a glutton for punishment. Lol”

Bolin responds, “Hahahaha I am.”

Fortunately for him, it’s entirely possible to have lofty goals while actively balancing health and family.

 

Making time for what matters

 

Childhood cancer survivor Andrew Mizzoni, an agent with Capital North Realty in the Greater Toronto Area whose fundraising efforts for pediatric cancer research earned him a government medal earlier this year, has also learned the importance of making time for the things and people that improve his life.

“Real estate can involve a lot of fast food, so bring meals with you,” Mizzoni suggests. “Keep an eye on your coffee intake. Handle things as they come up. Put in measures to be in charge of your calendar. And enjoy the ride.”

Many agents find that their priorities shift as they age, especially with the prolonged market slowdown and influx of automated platforms. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the industry’s hustle culture is dying. But it does seem to be shifting to more sustainable systems, professional boundaries and structured operations.

 

A body that keeps score

 

“My medical journey reshaped the way I work and think,” says Juliana Vallee, a Greater Vancouver-based Remax agent and coach who teaches agents to be intentional rather than just busy.

“Ours is a business that quietly rewards the wrong things… When I was in labour, I was texting a counter-offer to another Realtor between pushes. I’m not exaggerating. I was showing homes a few days after giving birth, and I wore it like a badge. Here’s what I’d tell you now – the habits we brag about are often the ones costing us the most.”

Your body keeps score, Vallee cautions. In her case the penalty included a brain tumour pressed against her optic nerve. Surgery left her blind in one eye. Her son started wearing pink laces on his hockey stick and skates so she could pick him out on the ice.

“That small thing still undoes me – my child helping me see him. Going through something invisible taught me that everyone is carrying something you can’t see.”

When you understand that and stop taking everything personally, your relationships with clients improve, she’s found.

If production is your only scoreboard, you will always feel behind, Vallee continues. “Add your health, your relationships and your peace of mind to that, and you start making very different decisions.”

Choose what you focus on. Appreciate the little things that most people take for granted.

“You don’t need a diagnosis to earn that perspective,” says Vallee. “A career should grow a life, not consume one.”