In this candid monologue, Steve D. Valentine reflects on his 48‑year family legacy in real estate, describing how his father, a long‑time top‑producing agent, died financially broke and in poor health despite industry accolades. Valentine uses his "More Than a Realtor" tagline to advocate for a new model that prioritizes health, family, and sustainable earnings over relentless hustle. He promotes his family's Phoenix‑based Valentine’s Property Management as a reputable service, critiques the average realtor’s health and income (claiming many earn less than a Starbucks barista and are overweight), and urges agents to set clear personal boundaries with clients—showcasing workouts, schedules, and lifestyle—to attract respectful, higher‑value clients. The overall message is a call to break generational curses by redefining success beyond traditional real‑estate metrics.
Chapters
48 years I have lived with the word realtor in my life. I was born into it. And let me tell you why I'm a little jaded and what my whole tagline, More Than a Realtor, actually means. It actually means breaking generational curses from my family. You see, my dad was a realtor, but he could have been more than. In fact, I know he was. But More Than a Realtor means I don't, I don't want you guys to die broke. I want you to be more than where my dad was. And my whole goal is to, which every kid is like, how do I improve the things that my dad did or my parents did? Well, Parents were in the business for 48 years. My mom's still in the business. Owns management company. The greatest management company in Phoenix. If you're looking for property management, hit them up. Valentine's Property Management. Second, honestly, like my dad was 65 years old when he passed. And he died broke for the most part. That is something I don't want to see. And so, when I get on my rants and things, it's really like talking to people that are doing and repeating the same things that I saw my dad do. And there's so much more to this business than to struggle through it and make everybody else money while you sacrifice your health, your family, and your life for other people and money. And that is just not the game I play. So, you know, here's some of the things like more than a realtor means you are healthier than the average realtor. And by the way, the average realtor is overweight. And they're terrible in health. Like, sorry to say that. That's just the fucking average. Look it up. The other thing too, an average realtor, they make less than a Starbucks barista. That's not— nobody wants to strive for that. Nobody wants to strive at 65 to be the poster child of my dad, which sounds asinine that I'm not talking shit about my dad. It's an awareness. My dad was 100 pounds overweight and broke after he served and was one of the top real estate agents for decades in Realty Executives. So, all the awards and trophies didn't mean diddly squat at the end of the day. And I want to tell you, it doesn't matter to you either. What matters is your health, your family, your priorities, and then work your business around it. And if you don't have the balls to tell your clients that, hey, I work out in the morning, I have this schedule, I can, I can show you here and here, then guess what? You get to choose new clients, attract new people that are going to respect who you are.
