When I first started in the world of business I equated success as having the top title and the biggest paycheck.  It took me a lot of hard work, a loss of my personal life and cost me a lost relationship.  Once I achieved the goal I thought I wanted I realized not only was it an empty goal, but it was a goal that once acheived left me feeling unfulilled, unhappy and looking to reinvent myself.

It also made me look at what I considered success with a more detached eye.  A chance to analyze it, to look at people I felt were successful from many different fields and come to a more highly evolved determination at what success was.  Indeed, what my later, more highly evolved definition of success became is vastly different from what I thought it was back in my early years.  The way I see it, success is not success if you say to yourself, boy look at me, I'm successful.  Success an ongoing ability to realize you can make positive change in our world in big and small ways, affect that change, and help people in such a way that you've changed their lives in a positive way.  It means giving back without asking for in return.  It means being open to others whether they can do something for you or not.  It means giving back in many ways, not a single charity or event.  It has to be a way of life.

In real estate I've found the tremendous duty an agent has to represent their clientele appropriately.  The responsibility of giving sound advice, and helping them make the right decisions with all the available information whether it costs you "the deal" or not.  It's not about "the deal" it's about the relationship.  How successful I am relies completely on my ability to help my client's achieve their dreams, understand the benefits of investing in real estate and making decisions that fit their goals to buy and sell real estate that will benefit them most.   It humbles me.

Yesterday a friend told me how successful I was in the business of real estate.  I told her it wasn't me.  It was my clients who were responsible.  I had been given their trust and the opportunity to give advice, recommendations and share with my clients my knowledge base.