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The Choice is Yours

By
Services for Real Estate Pros with Creative Gifts To Go LLC

The Choice is Yours

Make this world a better place. Make this industry a better place. Make your home a better place.  A tall order?  Impossible?  Not at all. 

You can do it—starting with you.

Many years ago, when I was living in Yreka, California, I saw problems in the town — problems that I felt the City Council should be looking at and trying to change.  Some of them would be easy, some much harder.  When I whined about this to one of my friends, she replied, “Well, it sounds like you’ve got your work cut out for you.”

What incredible advice! It echoed the sentiment of Mahatma Gandhi who said, “You must be the change that you want to see in the world.” We spend so much time fretting, worrying and complaining about things we don’t like. Instead, we should do the one or two small things that we can to make a difference.

So I did.  I ran, as one of 13 candidates in the next City Council election.  A friend screen printed posters which we hung in local stores.  I spoke at civic meetings.  And I pushed a stroller, holding my two-year-old and four-year-old daughters, door to door as I talked with people in the community.

On election night, I went to my regular judo class, knowing that I had done all that I could and not really expecting to win.  This was before cell phones so when I returned home, my husband said, “The mayor called.  You won.”

My work was indeed cut out for me as I spent my term trying to change the things that needed changing — succeeding with some and not with others.  But working towards my goals until we were transferred with the Forest Service to another town where I began again after living there for a few years — this time with the School Board.

I discovered that it’s not enough to say, “This needs to be done.” 

 We have unlimited power to allow ourselves to create change in the way that we live. Each of us has unique skills, good ideas, and wisdom based on knowledge and experience.  It’s up to us to use them to make a difference.

None of us know the future.  Life has taught us how quickly our lives and those around us can change.  The past is gone.  Living with regrets, or worse—living with grudges, resentments or hatred over past events only causes us to suffer.  Those around us probably don’t even know about them or care.

When Cherie Reagor announced that she was ceasing publication of Rave Reviews, the magazine for those of us in the gift and gift basket industry, we were all whining on the forums until someone threw down the gauntlet with the question  “Joyce, what about you?  You’re a writer.  You’ve published a newspaper.  And you know the industry.  You could do it.”

I thought about it for a long while, then replied, “Why not?”

Once again, I had my work cut out for me.  There have been ups and downs, pleasure and pain.  But I chose the path that was “now” and, 12 years later,  am still traveling down it towards the “future.”  Who knows where it will lead, where it will detour, and where it will end up.  But I saw something that needed doing, knew I had the skills to do it, and took the challenge.

Life leads us in directions that we never guessed.  Circumstances affect us for good or bad.  There is usually no choice about where we will go but we do get to choose our thoughts, our attitudes, and our decisions.

So choose wisely. When you see something that needs doing, changes that need to be made, and ways that you can help, forget the past and don’t worry about the future.  Do it now.

You can create a better world, a better industry, a better company, a better family, a better you. The choice is yours.

 

This article was originally published on my website GiftBasketNetwork

Joyce Reid is a former multi-million-dollar producing Realtor who traded selling homes, land, and businesses for the much less stressful job of selling gifts and gift baskets.

Comments (11)

Joan Cox
House to Home, Inc. - Denver Real Estate - 720-231-6373 - Denver, CO
Denver Real Estate - Selling One Home at a Time

Joyce, what a beautiful story, and know many REALTORS that have thrown in their hat to make a difference too.

Dec 19, 2021 01:52 PM
Joyce Reid

Thank you.  And, I, too, know many REALTORS who are working to make a difference, particularly during this pandemic.  

Dec 19, 2021 02:20 PM
Kathy Streib
Cypress, TX
Home Stager/Redesign

Joyce- thank goodness for people like you!!!! So many of us complain and offer lots of ideas about what's wrong or what should be done but you actually put your money where your mouth was! That is so admirable. Wonderful post. 

Dec 19, 2021 06:14 PM
Michael Jacobs
Pasadena, CA
Pasadena And Southern California 818.516.4393

Hello Joyce - not why but why not?  You obviously know how to make it happen.  Best of continued success in all that you do.  

Dec 20, 2021 04:36 AM
Kathy Streib
Cypress, TX
Home Stager/Redesign

Dec 25, 2021 06:44 PM
Wayne Martin
Wayne M Martin - Chicago, IL
Real Estate Broker - Retired

Good morning Joyce. Between stimulus and response man has the power to choose. The battle is to choose wisely. Enjoy your day.

Dec 26, 2021 04:25 AM
Grant Schneider
Performance Development Strategies - Armonk, NY
Your Coach Helping You Create Successful Outcomes

Good morning Joyce - your example is very encouraging.  If you want to change something take part.

Dec 26, 2021 05:58 AM
Ray Henson
eXp Realty of California, Inc. (lic. #01878277) - Elk Grove, CA
Realtor

Thank you for the inspirational post to get up and help make the world around us a better place.

Dec 26, 2021 06:32 AM
Marte Cliff
Marte Cliff Copywriting - Priest River, ID
Your real estate writer

That's exactly how our local animal rescue got started. A few REALTORS(R) saw the need, so we did it!

Dec 26, 2021 04:33 PM
Kat Palmiotti
eXp Commercial, Referral Divison - Kalispell, MT
Helping your Montana dreams take root

I love it. Complaining about something doesn't change anything. Getting involved does. Kudos to you for your can-do way of life!

Dec 27, 2021 04:57 AM
Jeff Dowler, CRS
eXp Realty of California, Inc. - Carlsbad, CA
The Southern California Relocation Dude

Bravo to you, Joyce, for the choices you made and the successes that followed. Wonderful inspiration for us all - don't just gripe and complain, do something!

Jeff

Dec 27, 2021 05:14 PM
Jan Green - Scottsdale, AZ
Value Added Service, 602-620-2699 - Scottsdale, AZ
HomeSmart Elite Group, REALTOR®, EcoBroker, GREEN

What a great, powerful post!  I so appreciate this post.  After adding 65 green features to our MLS, I started hosting, raising money, and volunteering for 2 day appraiser courses in Arizona. It's been a long process, but I can see the results.   You of all people get this and understand the "can-do" attitude that is required to make changes.  Good for you!  If I hadn't seen Kathy's link to your post, I might have missed it!  

Dec 28, 2021 06:36 PM