The Brooks Group - Pittsburgh

09/01/2026

08/28/2026

We had a very successful twilight open house yesterday and have scheduled another one for tomorrow (Saturday) from 11:00 - 1:00 PM. We hope you can drop by to see this amazing property on St. James Terrace... Seeing the off-street properties alone is worth your time if you are not familiar...

08/27/2026

Greetings my friends! I am really excited to announce my newest listing.. An amazing home in Shadyside. We are hosting a twilight open house this evening from 5:00 - 7:00 PM.

08/21/2026

Bridges of Light: Becoming Fear Fit

I have a confession to make. I grew up on a pretty steady diet of fear. As was the case in many households headed by Depression-era parents, there was a lot of fear in our house. A lot of it centered around money, but it went well beyond that. There was a general anxiety about life, about the world, about what might happen next and whether there would be enough when it did. Fear-based thinking was simply part of the atmosphere. And boy, did I consume it.

I didn't know I was consuming it, of course. When you are a kid, you don't get to choose the menu. You simply eat what is put in front of you. Those thoughts became part of the way I learned to understand the world. Watch out. Be careful. What if something goes wrong? What if there isn't enough? What if... what if... what if...

This week, while attending Keller Williams Mega Camp in San Antonio, I listened to Gary Keller talk about something he calls becoming Fear Fit. I loved the phrase because the goal isn't to eliminate fear. That isn't realistic. Fear is part of being human. The goal is to become stronger than the fear. And just like becoming physically fit, that requires training. We understand this when it comes to our bodies. If we want stronger muscles, we exercise them. If we want our bodies to perform well, we pay attention to what we feed them. We don't go to the gym once, lift a weight, and declare ourselves fit. We do it again and again and again.
Why would we think our minds work any differently?

Our brains need to be fed, too. And if we aren't intentional about what we feed them, they will simply consume whatever is already lying around in there. For me, there was quite a pantry. Fear. Scarcity. Worry. Anxiety. Worst-case scenarios. Some of those cans had probably been sitting on the shelf since childhood. And here's the thing about the brain: the more often we reach for a particular thought, the easier it becomes to reach for it again. Every repeated thought is a rep. The fearful ones count, too. Which made me wonder: What have I been practicing all these years without realizing I was practicing it?

Maybe this is where affirmations come in. I know. Positive affirmations can sound a little silly. Stand in front of the mirror and tell yourself wonderful things until somehow your life magically changes. But what if that isn't what they are about at all? What if an affirmation is simply a rep? There is more than enough. Things have a way of working out. I can handle whatever comes next. I am capable. I am safe. I am surrounded by possibility. Say it once and probably nothing happens. But neither does one bicep curl. Say it again. And again. And again.

Feed the brain something different. Give it something new to consume. Exercise a different mental muscle until, little by little, the new thought becomes easier to reach for than the old one.

Fear will still show up. Of course it will. Becoming Fear Fit doesn't mean walking through life without fear. It means that when fear walks into the room, it no longer gets the biggest chair. It can speak. I can listen. Sometimes fear even has something useful to tell me. But it doesn't get to make the decisions.

I spent a lot of years consuming fear because that was what was being served. I don't blame anyone for that. The people who fed it to me had consumed plenty of it themselves. But I'm not a kid sitting at that table anymore. I get to choose what I feed my mind. And perhaps becoming Fear Fit begins with something as simple as paying attention to what is on the menu.

Feed the possibility. Feed the abundance. Feed the courage. Feed the belief that whatever comes next, you will find your way through it. And then do another rep tomorrow.

And so it is.

08/20/2026

Bridges of Light: Someone at the Gate

I just flew home from a conference in San Antonio. As I sat on the plane, I found myself remembering a time when air travel was actually glamorous. The seats were spacious. The pace was unrushed. They served full meals on flights, even relatively short ones. Travel was a special occasion, and we dressed accordingly. No sweatpants. No pajamas. We were decked out in our Sunday best, because getting on an airplane was something of an event.

I don't remember security lines in those earliest days. There certainly weren't metal detectors and X-ray machines. You walked through the airport, got on the plane, and went somewhere. And perhaps most remarkably, the people who loved you could walk all the way to the gate with you. They could see you off, and they could be standing there waiting when you came home.

I remember when I was working at UCLA and doing some consulting on the side. Pittsburgh was a hub then, and I frequently connected through here on my way somewhere else. I can't tell you how many times my dad came to the airport just to spend a precious hour with me during a layover. I wasn't even coming home. He knew I was passing through, and that was reason enough to come.

And when I actually was coming home, there was almost always someone waiting.
I can still see them gathered at the gate as I came off the plane, waiting to embrace me and welcome me home. It didn't seem to matter whether I had been gone for months or days. Someone was there. Sometimes several someones. Parents. Siblings. Occasionally grandparents. People who loved me enough to come to the airport simply because I was returning.

I miss those days. They seem simpler somehow. Less hurried. And yes, perhaps through the rose-colored glasses of memory, safer. But sitting on that airplane coming home from San Antonio, I realized there is something else about those memories that has stayed with me. For as long as I can remember, I have imagined that dying might be something like that. Not the dying part itself. The arriving.

I imagine making a journey I have never made before and emerging from the other side, almost like walking up that old airport gangway. And there, gathered at the gate, are the people I have loved who made the journey before me. Waiting. My grandparents. Friends I have lost along the way. People whose absence has left holes in my life that never completely closed. And my dad. Maybe he will be there just as he was all those years ago when he drove to the Pittsburgh airport simply because his son was passing through. Except this time I won't be passing through.
I will be coming home.

And they won't be the only ones waiting. Tobi, Sookie, Thunder, Zeke, Boo, Jazz, Garth Brooks, Billybob, and Binx will be there too. Every dog and cat who shared a piece of my life and then, much too soon, went on ahead of me. I rather like imagining that part. Because if heaven is home, how could they possibly not be there?

I don't pretend to know what happens when this life ends. Faith gives us language and traditions give us images, but none of us has made that journey and returned with photographs. So I am content to hold onto this one. Perhaps death is not an empty terminal at all. Perhaps somewhere beyond everything we can see and understand, there is a gate. And maybe the people we have loved are already gathered there. Maybe they have been watching the arrivals board, waiting for our flight to come in. And perhaps, somewhere among them, there are tails wagging too.

And when our journey is finally over, we will emerge from the gangway and discover that we were never arriving somewhere strange. We were simply coming home. And everyone we loved was waiting at the gate.

And so it is.

P.S. When I’m not writing Bridges, I’m helping people buy and sell homes. If you or someone you know is thinking about making a move, please drop me a line at [email protected]. I’d love to start a conversation.

08/13/2026

Bridges of Light: Abundance Revisited

Last night, the Powerball jackpot surged past one billion dollars. This morning, I learned there was a winning ticket sold in Illinois. It wasn't mine. When the jackpot gets ridiculously large, I usually play. Not much. A couple of dollars. I call it my fantasy tax. For a few bucks, I get to spend a day or two imagining what I would do if an obscene amount of money suddenly landed in my lap. Interestingly, my mind usually goes first to the people and institutions I could help. I think about the things I could make possible that aren't possible now. I think about the places I would go and, perhaps more importantly, who I would bring along for the ride. And yes, eventually I get around to thinking about myself and how that kind of money might change some of the circumstances of my own life. It's a pretty good return on a couple of bucks.

But something interesting almost always happens after I indulge the fantasy for a while. I start thinking about how blessed I already am. No, I don't have a billion dollars. Not even close. There are things I would like to have, things I would like to do and circumstances I would happily change. But when I start taking inventory of what is already here, the people I love, the people who love me, meaningful work, a home, friendships, experiences, opportunities, memories and dreams still waiting to be lived, it becomes difficult to feel poor.

And maybe that's why my little fantasy tax is worth paying. It reminds me of something I deeply believe. There is more than enough. Enough health. Enough wealth. Enough love. Enough opportunity. Enough joy. Enough success. Enough light.

Of course, you cannot acknowledge abundance without acknowledging its sorry opposites: lack, limitation and scarcity. Those things are real. People experience genuine poverty, illness, loneliness, injustice and closed doors. I would never suggest that someone can simply think themselves out of difficult circumstances. But I do believe abundance and scarcity can become more than circumstances. They can become mindsets, lenses through which we interpret the world around us.

Scarcity tells me that if you get more, there will somehow be less for me. Abundance tells me there is room for both of us. Scarcity sees someone else's success and wonders what it means for me. Abundance sees someone else's success and says, "Look what is possible." And I have increasingly come to understand how much that distinction matters.

Perhaps that is one reason I found my way to Keller Williams. Real estate can be an extraordinarily competitive business. We compete for listings, buyers, market share and opportunities. And yet, at the heart of the company I chose to affiliate with are principles that seem to spring directly from an abundance mindset. "Win-Win or no deal." Seek outcomes in which everyone can walk away having gained something. "Teamwork: together everyone achieves more." Someone else's contribution doesn't diminish mine. Together we can create something neither of us could create alone. "Equity: opportunities for all." There isn't just room at the table. We have a responsibility to make sure people have a fair opportunity to get there.
Small wonder I found my way here. But this Bridge isn't about Keller Williams. It isn't even about real estate. It is about how we choose to move through the world.
So much of life invites us into scarcity. Protect yours. Get there first. Don't share too much. Someone else's gain must be your loss. Someone else's success somehow makes yours less significant. I simply don't believe that.

I want to live in a world where I can genuinely celebrate your success because it does not diminish mine. Where I can share what I know because knowledge grows when it is shared. Where I can open a door for someone without worrying that they might walk through it faster than I did. Where your light doesn't make mine any dimmer.

Maybe abundance isn't having everything we want. Maybe it is recognizing what we already have while still believing there is more possible, for ourselves and for one another.

Someone in Illinois woke up this morning with a winning Powerball ticket worth more than a billion dollars. Good for them. Mine wasn't the winning ticket. But after spending a couple of dollars dreaming about everything that kind of money could add to my life, I woke up this morning realizing something else. I have already won a lottery of a different kind. And perhaps that is abundance: not pretending there is nothing more we want, but recognizing just how much we already have.

And so it is.

08/04/2026

Should You Sell First or Buy First?

It's one of the first questions almost every Pittsburgh homeowner asks me.

"Should we find our next house first... or sell the one we're in?"

The honest answer is: it depends.

The right strategy isn't the same for someone selling in Highland Park as it is for someone moving from Cranberry, Fox Chapel, Mt. Lebanon, or Ross Township. Every neighborhood is a little different, and every family's financial picture is unique.

That said, for many homeowners in today's market, selling first is putting them in the strongest position.

Why Selling First Often Makes Sense

You'll know exactly what you have to work with.

One of the biggest advantages is certainty. Once your home is sold, you know exactly how much equity you're bringing to the table for your next purchase. That makes budgeting, financing, and decision-making much easier.

You avoid the stress of carrying two homes.

No one enjoys wondering whether they'll be making two mortgage payments while waiting for their current home to sell. Selling first removes much of that uncertainty and allows you to move forward with confidence.

Your offer becomes much more attractive.

When your current home is already under contract or sold, you don't need to make your purchase contingent upon selling your existing home. In competitive situations, that can make a meaningful difference and may even strengthen your negotiating position.

But What About Having Nowhere To Go?

That's usually the next question.

The good news is that there are often ways to bridge the gap. Depending on the situation, we may negotiate a rent-back after closing, coordinate delayed possession, arrange flexible closing dates, or explore temporary housing if it creates the best overall outcome.

The goal isn't just to buy and sell houses.

The goal is to create a plan that lets you move with as little stress as possible.

Every Move Deserves Its Own Strategy

I've helped clients navigate moves throughout the Pittsburgh area, and one thing I've learned is this:

The best strategy is rarely the one you read about online.

It's the one that's built around your goals, your finances, your timeline, and the realities of today's local market.

If you're even thinking about making a move in the next six to twelve months, let's have a conversation now. We can look at what your home is worth, discuss your options, and build a plan long before you're packing boxes.

Sometimes a thirty-minute conversation today can save weeks of stress later.

Shawn Brooks
The Brooks Group Pittsburgh | Keller Williams Exclusive

07/26/2026

Open house today, 12–2! 📍 341 Indian Ridge Drive

This one has room to breathe — a massive master suite with its own soaking tub (yes, please), a bonus room downstairs that's currently a playroom but would make an easy home office, and a back deck that flows right into the kitchen for those mornings when coffee outside just makes sense.

Come walk it with us. No pressure, just a good look around — we'll have the door open from 12 to 2.

07/25/2026

If you’ve ever wondered what a Pittsburgh house built decades ago can hide, today’s open house on Bethel Church Road had an answer: hand-painted glass in nearly every room. A tiny painted cottage tucked into one window. A full peacock hand-painted across a leaded door. Bluebirds worked into a floral pattern over another.

None of it was added later — it’s original to the house. It’s the kind of detail you can’t really buy new, no matter the budget.

Swipe through — and if you missed today’s open house and want to see it in person, message me.

QUESTION: What is the most surprise detail you have ever found in a house, new or old?

07/25/2026

Hello Friends! A property to not be missed in Bethel Park. I hope you can drop by today between 11:00 - 1:00 to see this amazing house. Let me know if you would like a private showing at your convenience.