Rob Foglia

2025 has been an eye-opening year for me. It was full of ups, a handful of downs, and a ton of lessons that I hope to take with me for the rest of my life and pass along to those around me.

Here are 3 things that I’m taking with me into 2026 and beyond.

1. Never Stop Putting Yourself Out There

2025 was interesting for me. It had its share of failures, and if I’m not careful, my personality type will dwell on those instead of the successes. But the thing is that both the successes and failures all stem from putting myself out there. And that’s the lesson.

If you’re new to my blog, I have some varied interests. Some know me from real estate, others from music, and some from my book. Aside from my family, music has become the strongest force in my life. I’ve always loved music and wanted to pursue it. And while responsibilities sometimes make it a bit challenging to go after, it’s been budding and growing over the last handful of years for me.

I remember having a chat with my wife about music and feeling a bit stuck earlier this year. A band I had helped form in the latter part of 2024 had fallen apart, and, if I’m being honest, that band never really felt all the way right anyway. I was questioning with her if I would ever find the right musicians to play and create with. My wife’s the best, and she encouraged me to keep doing what I’ve been doing: go to jams, spend time at the jazz workshop, and keep meeting musicians.

No less than a couple of weeks later, I attended a jam and ran into a drummer I had loved playing with but hadn’t seen in a couple of years. He and the bassist that night clicked immediately, and the three of us just hit it off. We hung back after the jam, and the three of us decided to get together and see if we could create something.

That night was the first conversation of what would become our band, merj. Before that night, I was close to the point of giving up, feeling like I wasn’t meant to meet creative musicians who want to have fun and grow something. Everyone seemed to be either a lot older than me and just messing around, younger than me and taking things way too seriously (or way too loosely), or just wasn’t in the same place in life.

Merj has become like a family already. I can’t convey through the blog how excited I am about this group and where we can go. (By the way, if you’re in Nashville, we have a couple of shows coming up in Q1, the next one on January 20 at 6 p.m. at Tennessee Brew Works.)

If I had given up and stopped putting myself out there, this band wouldn’t have started, we wouldn’t be progressing, and we wouldn’t be creating. I’m grateful that I kept going.

2. Every Setback Can Point You In The Right Direction

Unlike a lot of my peers in the real estate industry, I’m willing to talk about failures and setbacks. While most pretend they’re having their best year ever, posting selfies at closings all over social media, the reality is that 2025 is capping off the toughest 2-3 year span we’ve seen to be in real estate since the recession.

But I want to go beyond the slower sales years when talking about setbacks. In 2025, I took a chance. I went after something new. I left my home, which I had kept for 11+ years (Keller Williams), and went to become a managing broker elsewhere. Well, that lasted for 6 months after I learned that there’s only so much impact and change one person can make inside of a company, and if you’re in a place that feels like home, then stay. After 6 months elsewhere, I went back home to KW.

Now, a driving force for me going elsewhere was that I wanted to impact other agents. I wanted to be a leader, a coach, and a mentor in a way I hadn’t experienced at KW. That’s why the managing broker role appealed to me. And while, unfortunately, the more I saw about the inner workings of elsewhere, the less I saw myself fitting in there, I also formed many positive relationships and learned something about myself that I can take with me the rest of my real estate career.

I learned that not only can I make such a great impact teaching and coaching others, it’s also something I’m great at. That’s led me to start Real Estate Reset Coaching and another opportunity that, although I can’t discuss it yet, is on the horizon for me in 2026.

That experience elsewhere taught me that, even if a setback occurs, the results can point you in the direction you’re supposed to go.

3. Always Keep Your Values Close

I love the holidays. Aside from all of the good vibes and holiday cheer, it’s a time of year when I purposely slow down. Maybe it’s because I spent the first decade of my adult life working the horrendous schedule of a retail manager throughout the holidays, but I take a lot of time off from real estate the last couple of months of the year.

Now, I don’t spend that time just watching Netflix and chilling. I’m working on things that are close to my heart. Just this month, I’ve recorded my next album of original music (look for Hey Kid, Go Create Your Life wherever you stream music on January 30!), taken more gigs and rehearsals than ever in one month, and spent so much quality time with my family.

That last item is probably the most special of them all. And, it was evident how important it is to keep your values close when we were watching a movie as a family over Christmas break. I won’t get into specifics on the movie, but the dad in the movie said something that was so supportive and accepting of his son. I said something like, “That’s a great dad right there.” To which Abby responded, “Just like you, Daddy.”

I’d be lying if I said that didn’t make me tear up a little bit. I don’t share the above story to brag or pat myself on the back or anything. I’ve been very intentional as a father. I have a goal of showing my daughter how to live an authentic life so she can go after what truly matters in her heart. Not when she hits some fork in the road as a thirty or forty-something, but rather, she can learn at a young age that life is about pursuing what makes her uniquely her. And her words to me that day will live with me forever, telling me that I’m doing that. Or at least have been, and need to continue to.

But I wouldn’t be able to say that if I weren’t keeping my values close to my heart and my actions. I must continue to model the behavior that I want to teach my daughter.

Nearly every day, I see real estate agents out there grinding way too hard. I’m thinking right now about an agent at my office who seems to have a good heart, but seems wound up way too tightly. That type of tension occurs when we’re not living a life true to ourselves. When we’re not keeping our values close to our hearts, minds, and actions. I hope I can continue to keep my values close and keep making the impact on the world I want to make.

I hope these three lessons that I’m taking with me into 2026 will help you make 2026 amazing. In whatever way that means to you.

Happy New Year!

Go out there and Be Irreplaceable.

– Rob 🤟