The Real Estate industry can be unforgiving. The moment we come to understand and accept that, we discover a world of opportunities.

I did my first investment deal when I was in college. As is true for many of us, it was an accident that led to a career.

I purchased my first house during the “dot-com” era, only to realize that if I rented enough of the rooms to my college buddies, I could create cash flow.

Rinse. Repeat. One house became many, and before I knew it, I had a small portfolio.

My tech career evolved into a real estate career. Through a chance encounter, I was offered a job and partnership at what would become one of the nation’s largest property preservation companies. I witnessed the power of technology and scale—and what that could do when it came to assigning a multiple and valuation to an enterprise.

After a few years, feeling the entrepreneurial itch, I started an investment-focused real estate brokerage and worked with some of the wealthiest people I knew at the time. We scooped up properties by the handful during the financial meltdown. I learned people make money when the market is strong, but true wealth is created during downturns by those who are prepared.

Still, helping others build their empire wasn’t enough. I longed to build something of my own.

First, I moved from equity to debt, from investor to lender, and rebuilt something that just needed attention and faith. With a small team, we set out a few years after the Great Recession to build the premier private lender in Texas out of a fledgling commercial development company. We knew the Texas market weathered the storm, and we were prepared to act as the foundation for real estate investors who needed capital. We started syndicating deals, then building funds, and finally moving into the loan sales ecosystem that so many private lenders see now as the standard. We created a system, a culture, a titan of the industry.

And yet, the calling I heard so many years previous would not yield. I longed to return to my ambitions, to building my own empire. I wanted to walk on dirt, not Wall Street. I wanted to smell lumber, not an office building. I wanted to build again. Through another chance encounter, I was empowered to start my own investment-focused brokerage yet again—this time with a family office behind me.

We set out to build the first fully integrated real estate investment management firm of our kind. We set up the brokerage to source deals, the development company to oversee the improvements, the management company to stabilize and manage the properties, and the insurance company to manage the risk. Once we proved our model, we set up a fund specifically aimed at helping others realize their aspiration of owning a slice of the American dream.

When I reflect on these transitions, I see a pattern: Chance encounters lead to life-changing opportunities. It’s a gentle reminder to be open to new ideas, people, and, yes, challenges. These simple ingredients are the building blocks for what we are all seeking—opportunity for fulfillment. And, perhaps, if we are lucky, our own empire.