So much change, so many opportunities to help!

A few years ago I had one of those "Ah-Ha" moments that forever changed my perspectiive of the real estate business. It came at a Ninja Selling seminar with Larry Kendall whom I consider to be one of the great minds in real estate. The comment he made was very simple and impactful - real estate is a business of change, not a business of growth. Please understand that for a guy coming from the hot Arizona market this was a major paradigm shift. For so long we had been riding the wave of growth but in the fall of 2007 we were well into the downturn that would make Arizona ground-zero for problems and, of all things, negative growth! This one simple concept allowed me to embrace the changes I had to make to face the new market.

We talked that day about the many forms of change and actually looked at 14 different life changes including positive changes like marriage and growing families, or tough changes like divorce or job loss. So many life activities create the need for real estate activity and, even in the toughest of situations, we are uniquely positioned to help people make lemonade from lemons.

I am writing on this topic because of my own personal reminder of the change that we all face. Just a couple days ago my youngest child came home from college after his first semester away and our first experience as empty-nesters. My middle daughter is a junior in college and will graduate and move on to the next phase of life in a short 18 months and my oldest will bring 4 grandkids to our home Christmas morning. Just in my immediate family we represent 4 or 5 of the life changes that create real estate activity! I'm sure that many people reading this blog are in a similar position and none of us have to look very far to see example after example of change in someone's life that leads to an opportunity for us to provide service that will lead to a positive, and sometimes a life-changing, outcome.

I start every day with the question "what can I do to bless someone in my business today" and simply understanding the impact of "change" in people's life allows me to be more aware of the opportunities that exist to do just that. We all know that change is unavoidable and I find it refreshing, good for business and personally satisfying to seek it out and embrace the opportunity to help other people. My challenge for you today is to raise your awareness of the life events taking place right in front of you and recognize that each situation is an opportunity to be a blessing to someone who needs your friendship and expertise. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and blessed time with family and friends.