Do Good, Because it's the Right Thing to Do.

I haven't been in Real Estate all that long, a little over 2 years now, but I've seen a lot in that time. I'd have to say that overall my experience has been a positive one. I have helped a few families to find a new home. I've helped a few families sell an old one and I've helped a few investors find some property that will show them a return on their investment. I've met some great people along the way. I have clients who have now become great friends. I've met Realtors who have helped me along my way, for which I will always be grateful, and I've met some other professionals in other aspects of the business who have made things much smoother for me and those I work with. To them I am extremely grateful as well. When I got into Real Estate, I had a sort of Utopian idea about how Real Estate worked. I know, how silly of me, but I'm an Idealist and I look for the good in everything. It's my nature and I can't change that. I like the fact that I look to the good in everything first.

I spent many years, jaded with life in general, where I didn't trust anyone. I call them my dark years, for obvious reasons. During that time I entered into every interaction in my life with a sort of trepidation, a fear of sorts, because I expected the worst to happen. Ever heard of the law of attraction? Well, it was certainly working out it's course in my life. My attitude was attracting all sorts of bad things into my life and, like a cursed magnet, they were clinging to me as a young child in fear clings to it's mother. I had birthed these things into my life after all, why should it be any different?

It took a great deal of effort to change the course of my life. I needed hope in my life. I needed somewhere to turn, someone to look to who would understand my situation and help me to turn things around. Fortunately for me, I found that source of hope. I found the catalyst of change in my life and I embraced it, much like those malformed demons of my past that had been embracing me and I found that they began to lose their grip. Some, the weaker ones, just fell off on their own, unable to maintain their grasp. Others, the ones who had dug in deep and refused to let go at all costs, took a great deal of effort on my part. I found a new strength to fight with and the course of my battle changed. Where before I saw weakness and the inability to change, in essence it was dispair, I now saw a new hope and could visualize my victory. I made some great progress.

My battle's not over. I look forward to the day that it will be complete, when I can look back at it all and hear those words, "You fought a good fight. Well done." In the meantime, I will fight my battles as they come to me and I will enjoy the gifts I have been given. I no longer look at life with the same fear. I look for that silver lining. In every situation there's something to learn, something to be gained, something good. That's the way I look at Real Estate.

Real Estate can be a tough business. There are always those who look at every situation, hoping to find the leverage to get the better hand. Every deal has to be a confrontation, a battle of it's own to be won by any means necessary, no matter that their client lies wounded on the field afterwards. There will always be those who look at what we do as a means to get rich, using each and every person in front of them as a stepping stone taking them one step closer to their goal. These are the ones who make the business tough for the rest. These are the ones who make the FSBO's go it on their own, for fear of the very ones who are offering aid. It's shameful to be lumped in the same category as those, but we are all Real Estate agents and most of us are Realtors, so there it is. This same principle applies to the mortgage industry as well, maybe even moreso, but I'm not one for pointing fingers.

On the other hand, if we look for the good in every situation, there is always a solution to every problem. There's no issue that can't be overcome, nothing so important that it should stop us from reaching our goal. It requires a selflessness that's so hard to attain because, so often, we are just too full of ourselves. I heard it said before that "Sometimes we have to lose a little in order to gain a lot." We could also say that we need to keep our eyes on the goal. It's the end result that we're trying to get to, so don't let the minutia drive us crazy. Yes, Jason, we live in a world where it appears that our whole existance is a lie. That's just the appearance. Look deeper and you'll find the hope that's there waiting to be embraced. You will find your purpose as I have found mine. It's a "Blue pill or Red pill" kind of situation. If you don't get the reference, watch the Matrix and you'll know what I'm talking about.

In the end, there's a simple rule that we can follow here. Do good, because it's the right thing to do.