You've reached the pinnacle of your career. You are in the top tier of your profession and you've spent most of your career working hard to achieve that status. You've sacrificed time, money, and areas of your personal life to get where you are now. You started off with nothing and earned every bit of the success you now have. You are an accomplished real estate professional that is not only wealthy in your own right, but respected and honored for your achievements.

So what could possibly be wrong with this picture?

The most simple answer is nothing, but in order to answer that question you need to ask a question. Do you live your life with the same passion, direction, and vision as you do at work? I am not referring to whether or not you spend leisure time at the golf course because you are really "passionate" about golfing. I am talking if you are someone who gives back, spends quality and loving time with your family, and focused on things going on in our world that positively influence people in need. This might sound audacious but I propose that you can be the best of the best in business and yet still fail by neglecting the things that really matter in life.

I might be young, but I've accomplished great things in business for myself over the years. I've learned from some of the best and best and have found myself at many President's Club-like events. One of the things I noticed early on was that my success changed me in both good and bad ways. It was hard to look at myself in the mirror and see, but I had let my success get to my head and make me borderline conceited. I didn't even realize it, but I would sometimes find myself laughing at others in my mind who were not as successful as me. I still remember the first day my wife pointed out to me that I had become that way. My initial reaction was anger and denial. I mean I EARNED that notoriety, I WORKED hard for that money, and I LOVED being the best in my area. What could possibly be wrong with that!?

That weekend I did some soul searching and started to think about my wife's admonishment. What I began to do was see that I had unintentionally allowed myself to become something that I never intended to be. Sure there is nothing wrong with a sense of pride in oneself. But once you have all of those "things" that you've been working so hard for, then what? He who dies with the most toys still dies. One of my favorite musicians Dave Matthews in his song "Seek Up" puts it very direct,

• Oh look at me in my fancy car and my bank account
• Oh how I wish I could take it all down to my grave
• God knows I'd save and save
• Man, take a look again, take a look again
• The things you have collected, well in the end it piles up so tall
• To one day nothing, one day nothing at all

Please don't misunderstand my message here. I have two beautiful little girls that will be well taken care of both when I am here and when I pass away. This isn't about the future for our families. This is all about our priorities and the life we live while we strive to succeed in our business. So why is it that our families statistically spend more time at night watching T.V. than talking with one another over dinner? It really all boils down to priorities and understanding that what we do in our life and in our work is not our sole purpose. This is my own conviction, but I believe my purpose is to serve others, to lead by example, and to invest my life in the lives of others.

You'll often find that when you serve others and work towards a goal greater than just money you'll live a life that is truly filled with meaning and purpose. And when you build your business in the lives of others your business will be built for life.