Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Tracy Miller. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Tracy , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
I experienced intense burnout after building a multi-million dollar real estate business and investment portfolio in seven short years. I was a top producer in my real estate market for sales. I owned my own real estate brokerage where I supervised and mentored 11 agents. I bought, flipped, and rented 13 doors (12 properties). I went into real estate so I could achieve a life of freedom, which is my most precious personal value. Freedom of time and physical place. I ended up getting trapped in the status driven, accomplishment minded, money making machine and burned myself out completely. I realized a year ago that I wasn’t happy and I wasn’t living within my own values and I wasn’t able to live authentically. I had internal conflict that was creating resentment and mental exhaustion. I worked 7 days a week, 12-16 hours days, 365 days a year. I wasn’t able to participate in the activities I loved most; hiking, mountain biking, MMA, brazilian jiu jitsu, backpacking, writing, traveling. I never saw my family unless it was to bring kids with me to work or to join my husband on a renovation project. I couldn’t get dressed anymore because the clothes I was putting on were a phony symbol of success, rather than a down to earth, casual, and comfortable image of my true identity. I started to lose my memory and I had heart issues from stress. I began receiving messages in the form of syncronicities that encouraged me to slow down and get back in touch with my higher self. I began doing yoga, meditating, journaling, and taking time off. I slowly stepped back from real estate sales, but was so caught in the machine that I was trapped and unable to slow down. On December 23rd, I quit drinking alcohol because I had formed a daily habit to alleviate stress. On December 31st I received a final syncronicity and I made the decision to quit selling real estate all together, down size my brokerage, transform my brokerage to a remote office, sell my office building, and stop chasing money. I decided I was going to live a life of authenticity, which did not involve money. It involved freedom, inspiring others to also live authentically, and writing as a form of impact and expression. Now, I remotely supervise my brokerage (I am working on a plan to gift the business to my agents, but that is a legal research project I can’t go public with yet), live off the passive income from my rental properties, and I am building a brand to show the world you can only be happy through authenticity. Discovering this was the freedom I was always chasing. I am no free to be myself completely. I am free of people pleasing. I am free of time. I am free of place. I bought a sprinter van and converted it to a camper. I travel around in it and work remotely. I am free to create again. With the “have tos” of life removed, I am now able to allow creativity to flow through me again.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
I am a lifestyle entrepreneur who lives a life of authenticity, freedom, and impact. My mission is to inspire others to do the same. The world needs each and every one of us to live fully and authentically in order to serve and impact others in a positive way. When we are true to ourselves, it gives others permission and encouragement to do the same. We find joy in doing things in life that are in alignment with our values. Joy spreads to others. I am a writer, who currently free lances for magazines. I am working on a book, and am actively looking for an agent, because I intend to write professionally for the rest of my life. I am a motivational speaker who gives talks at conferences and group seminars. I have a podcast called, Clock Out! The Vicarious Life, where I interview others like me who are living life on their own terms and fulfilling purpose and finding joy in what they do. Some value time. Some value money. Some value accomplishment. Some value experience. Some value peace. Whatever it is they value, they are living in alignment and are happy as a result. Most of these people are impactful in their own unique way because they are sharing their stories and making a difference in the world. My podcast is alive to share these stories and inspire others to do the same. I am also a real estate investor who used intuition and courage to create a 4.5 million dollar portfolio that allowed me to retire financially free at 39 when I decided I had enough. I still actively invest because I love it. It is another creative outlet. I get to choose properties, create a vision for them, design them, then bring them back to life, so someone in our community has a warm and inspiring home to live in.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
The hustle culture is killing us. My mission is to encourage others to step back from the need to fulfill society’s expectations of success. Our society is pushing children from the age of 3 years old to accomplish and perform and compete for academics and sports. We ingrain it in our children’s minds that they have to have high test scores, high grades, high achievement from day one. We tell them to over schedule and run ragged throughout their school years in order to compete for scholarships and get into the best schools, so they can get the prestigious degree and get the highest paying, best job. Our children become adults and often never wake up and realize they are on auto pilot, living society’s expectation of them, rather than their own unique passions and values. They quit creating in lieu of courses that will be required to get them into programs for an education they don’t even truly want. By the time they wake up, they are middle aged, unhappy in all parts of life, and trapped in life because of the suffocating debt they have taken on in pursuit of someone/something else’s expectation. We all have creativity and imagination, but I believe it is stifled by the masculine energy of our world. Instead, we hustle, compete, and accomplish, which often times leaves us broken, disconnected from our higher self, and unsure of what is missing in our life. It takes slowing down and getting very still and quiet to reconnect with ourselves. It is in this space, which our world does not support or allow with our attachment to technology and constant connection to a mobile device, where we heal and awaken to our higher calling and true purpose in life. My creative journey expresses this through podcasting, writing, and motivational speaking. I am a living example of a life lived authentically and a living example of how you can get back in alignment with Self and find your purpose.
Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
I wish I knew about podcasting earlier. I am in love with how easy it is to allow your authenticity to shine through during podcasting. I can choose the topic, connect with a guest who is like minded, and allow true conversation and thought processes to flow between us. It is magical when I get in flow with a guest because our synergies elevate the vibration and whatever message the Universe needs to hear from us naturally comes out for the audience to experience and hear. I absolutely love writing, but unlike podcasting, the moment is often lost when trying to put pen to paper. I find myself editing and allowing my brain to take over during the creative process, rather than just allowing the creative thought or inspiration to simply flow out. I don’t have this issue with podcasting because my show is raw and unedited and I can’t be mentally correcting myself and seeking perfection when I am deeply connected and engaging with a guest. If we fumble, we laugh genuinely, and just keep going. You don’t get that with writing.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.clockoutthevicariouslifepodcast.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clockout_tvl/
- Facebook: https://www.instagram.com/clockout_tvl/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@clockoutvicariouslifepodcast
- Other: my My podcast can be found on spotify or apple. Here is the spotify link: https://open.spotify.com/show/6Tj9eG7EMYUYgGw9qnbq4X?si=f1121e53767740b3
Image Credits
The head shots are credited to Buffalo James Photography