I started doing real estate sales when I was very young - about 21. I'd never really sold anything before aside from some pizzas and some McDonalds fries (and no, I can prove I worked at McDonalds either).
My then-wife and I got our real estate licenses in a rural part of Oregon, Grants Pass.
It's a great area. Lots of open spaces. At the time, the early 1990s, there were a lots of homes for sale, the market was pretty solid, and everything was looking up.
On my second day, I took call from a couple that wanted to see houses. I took all the requirements, looked for houses, and set up an appointment to drive around in the morning.
In fact, the husband would drive so I could focus on telling them about the area, showing them houses, and more.
I had my pile of MLS printouts, a cup of coffee in me, and a big, excited smile.
I forgot one really important thing: to map out our day.
This was at time before phones with GPS and simple mapping programs. I had a Thomas Guide and a few big local maps, but I didn't use them until we were already lost.
There were lots of U-turns and time lost.
The next morning, they called to say they were going with another agent in town. "You're very nice, but you're a bit too inexperienced." They bought a house later that week.
The moral of the story is this: You can't just look for the destination; you have to plan the trip too. Otherwise, you'll never get there.