Falling isn’t failing: An ESPN reporter’s hard-won lesson in getting back up

Lauren Sisler has stood on the field for national championships—80,000 fans screaming, the kind of moment that makes highlight reels. And in a recent keynote at the Women in Real Estate Conference (WIRE), she told the room flat out: That’s not where the good stuff happens.

“Some of the most powerful stories happen behind the scenes,” she said, “in the quiet, in the struggle, and in the resilience it takes to keep going even when nobody’s watching.”

Sound familiar? Swap “championship” for “closing” and you’ve basically described real estate.

The rejection letter.

Before ESPN, Sisler was a competitive gymnast, chasing a scholarship to the Air Force Academy—her ticket, she hoped, to a free ride through med school, too. There was just one catch: The SAT. She took it three times. Her score dropped every time.

The rejection letter that landed in her mailbox didn’t pull any punches. “Rejection will tell you you’re not enough, you don’t belong here,” she said.

A scholarship offer from Rutgers showed up instead. Any agent who’s lost a listing only to land a better client the next week already knows this plot twist by heart.

The call no one sees coming.

Then, freshman year,  she got a phone call that her mother had died. Hours later, her uncle delivered the rest of it—her father died, too. She was 18 and had $50 to her name.

Within days, the family home was emptied and auctioned off to cover debts.

For years, Sisler gave people a softened version of what happened—a heart attack, respiratory failure. The truth was harder: Both of her parents had quietly battled prescription pain medication addiction and died of fentanyl overdoses hours apart. “Shame is the thing that keeps us from sharing our stories,” Sisler said. “But our stories need to be heard, because they’re what make us who we are.”

Impostor syndrome.

Sisler reimagined her career goals with the help of a tutor and a therapist. She switched from pre-med to communications—and landed her ESPN audition in 2016.

Her fix doesn’t require anyone else’s approval.  “You’ve already earned your spot. You’ve just got to give yourself permission to take that seat.”

Lauren’s shatterproof playbook includes these five takeaways that she tells every member in the audience:

• Lead from your story, not your title. Loving your story means honoring who you are.

• Be where your feet are. Stop chasing what’s next long enough to notice what’s now.

• Learn to jump scared. You’ll never feel 100% ready, and that’s the whole point.

• Take your seat at the table. Stop waiting for the permission you already earned.

• Live boldly in the truth. Step into each chapter of your story—the wins and the losses alike.

“You are not defined by your hardest chapter,” she said, “but by the courage it takes to keep writing the next one.”

Lauren Sisler is the author of the memoir “Shatterproof: How I Overcame the Shame of Losing My Parents to Opioid Addiction (and Found My Sideline Shimmy).” If this story raises concerns about your own or a loved one’s substance use, the SAMHSA National Helpline at
(800) 662-4357 offers free, confidential support 24/7.

This article was generated using Florida Realtors® automation and reviewed by an editor before publication.