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He weighed 340 pounds, was $100K+ in debt, unemployed, and sitting in the shower crying, thinking about not being here anymore. Then a random Bible verse notification on his watch snapped him out of it. Tanner Helm rebuilt his faith, his family, and a real estate business from literally nothing using four checkboxes a day. This is what surrender actually looks like when you stop pretending you have it together.
EPISODE OVERVIEW
Tanner Helm isn't here to tell you a polished success story. He's here to tell you the truth about what happens when a Christian real estate agent tries to build a business without ever inviting God into it, and what it costs to rebuild after everything falls apart.
Tanner got into real estate 13 years ago at 19, married with kids, selling copiers before stumbling into title insurance and eventually real estate. He built a team in Southern California, did $14-15 million in volume his first year, then moved his family to Bend, Oregon, chasing a slower pace of life. What followed was a brokerage coaching role, years of solid production, and a slow disconnect from his faith that he didn't even notice happening. He describes it plainly: he treated his business and his spirituality as two separate things, and by the end of 2022, after one of his best professional years ever, he was so burnt out he stopped responding to clients altogether. He quit real estate in January 2023 and took a job sweeping floors at a commercial construction site, just to escape the pressure of thinking.
That's not where the story bottoms out. A head-on collision on an icy Oregon highway with his wife and four kids in the car became the moment reality hit — that he was fully out of control, not just behind the wheel, but in every area of his life. A men's conference reignited something. A move to Idaho followed. And then came the real low: a failed construction business, mounting debt, his wife going to work every morning while he pretended to get ready for a job he didn't have, and a season where he admits he was suicidal.
The turning point wasn't dramatic. A verse-of-the-day notification on his watch, mid-breakdown in the shower, was enough to make him get up and write four words on a notepad: Faith. Family and marriage. Business. Health. One small action in each category, every single day. That simple structure — not a strategy, not a system, just consistent daily obedience — became the foundation for a complete turnaround: real estate license renewed, income restored, a coaching business built on stewardship instead of hustle, and a business he now describes as fully surrendered to God.
Whether you're a Christian entrepreneur in a season of burnout, rebuilding after failure, or just trying to figure out what biblical business principles actually look like day to day, Tanner's story is proof that God doesn't need you to have it together — He just needs you to take the next step.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Compartmentalizing faith and business is its own kind of burnout. Tanner's disconnect wasn't rebellion — it was quietly treating his spiritual life and his real estate business as separate categories. That gap is where the exhaustion lived.
- God can't guide steps you're not taking. The line that stopped Tanner cold in prayer: "What steps? You're not taking any steps. I can't guide steps you're not taking." Surrender doesn't mean passivity — it means moving and trusting God with the outcome.
- Small, daily, unglamorous obedience compounds. The four-checkbox system (faith, family/marriage, business, health) worked because it was doable on the worst days — "return an email," "answer the phone" counted as a win.
- Rock bottom is often a mirror, not a punishment. The car accident, the debt, the depression weren't random bad luck — Tanner describes them as a reflection of the direction he'd already been drifting for years.
- A second chance in business is a stewardship opportunity, not just a comeback. Tanner didn't just rebuild his real estate career — he rebuilt it asking, "How do I steward this well this time?"
ONE PRACTICAL STEP
Tonight, write down four words on a notepad: Faith. Family. Business. Health. Tomorrow morning, before you check your phone or your CRM, commit to one small action in each — one prayer, one text to your spouse or kid, one email you've been avoiding, one walk. Don't aim for a system. Aim for four checkmarks. That's the whole practice — and it's the one that took Tanner from the shower floor to a business fully surrendered to God.
CONNECT WITH TANNER
Instagram - @tannerhelm
Website - https://collectivegrowthcoaching.com/
Need help winning at work without losing at life? I'm here for you!
📖 Get the FREE E-Book — The Faithful Agent ebook is my gift to you; it's full of biblical truths about your calling, reflection questions, and practical steps to win at work without losing at life. Download it here: https://www.garrettmaroon.com/faithfulagentebook
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