It's really funny that I had been swirling these thoughts around in my mind recently and then the May challenge was about this topic. What brought it to my mind was my husband filling out some paper work that not only required our current information, but some history. Had our names been different, had we been married previously and when we were married and divorced. My husband literally does not remember the date of his first marriage. He had divorce papers in a folder, but we had to go on line and order a copy of his marriage license to get the information he needed.
Now me, I can tell you the day, the hour and the minute of both my previous marriages and divorces. I know the day I started this job, I know the day I met my husband, I know both my x's social security numbers. I know all three kids social security numbers. I still dial phone numbers vs. punching a name on my phone (I'm hoping that keeps my brain sharper).
Now to the question at hand.... if I "could" start over my real estate career would I change ANYTHING?
I almost said hard no, I wouldn't change anything at all. But with a little thoughtful reflection that's not true. There are a couple of clients that I simply wouldn't have worked with. And I would have gone back to my real estate teacher before he passed away and expressed my gratitude for what an exceptional teacher he was to me. He had been an agent and a broker and written exam questions for the Georgia real estate examination prior to his teaching career. Bob Greer was truly exceptional at teaching and I pride myself on having copied his style when I became a real estate instructor 12 years ago.
But honestly other than not working my arse off for a couple of people who really did NOT appreciate my efforts and one actually called me a door opener and not expressing my sincere gratitude to my instructor I wouldn't change a darn thing.
You see... my story.... was that I came to real estate because I was suddenly very unhappy in my previous job. I had a history of loving a job, getting a new boss and things going rapidly down hill. I was in accounting/secretary for a middle school principal who was tough with teachers but loved the children. Then a new principal came and I hated every single day I had to work for him. Honestly I don't even recall his name. I block bad things from my mind. Always have.
Then I was in the newspaper business as a graphic artist and I loved my job. I spent 7 years there and loved most of it. Then they took my department away from Ralph Hammock and gave it to an asshat and again I hated my job.
Then I was in the radio industry for a year and half. I still LOVE most of the people I met there. In fact, right at this very moment one of them is a current client. But then my boss left and this crazy woman became "in charge" of me and I again hated my job. So in July of 1992 I got the newspaper and read the "want ads" and there was a secretarial job at a real estate firm. I called and scheduled the interview.
He told me he didn't think he could hire me because he couldn't compete with what I was making. I explained in no uncertain terms that life wasn't about money for me. That I needed pride in my work, freedom with my time to be a great mom, flexibility in my schedule to be a great mom and that I would figure the money out on my own time. He hired me. I dove in immediately. Like I got out the Georgia Real Estate code book and read every stinking page twice. Today I can still quote laws that are still current. When I had been here a year I decided to get my license. When I had been here two years I was licensed, but still the secretary. When I had been here two and half years I owned the company. On Wednesday I was the secretary and on Thursday January 12, 1995 I was the owner. I wasn't a broker. I hired my former boss to be the broker until I had been licensed for two years and could start my classes to become the broker. The day it had been 3 years I sat for my brokers test in 1997 and became the broker/owner.
I had not one, but two failed marriages by that point, but I was great at my job. And I was a great mom. My parents taught me great worth ethic and to do my best at whatever it was I was doing. I am still a great mom and I am still great at my job. I have agents who work for other brokers who call me to ask me questions. I have other brokers who call me to ask questions. My memory is one reason they do that and Lord knows I hope it stays around like my grandmother's did, until I die.
Today I was checking emails and I got a reminder to set "holiday hours" for my google listing. When I was there I read the reviews and there were a couple I had not responded to and I did. One person said that Joe (my longest employed agent) and I had "treated them like family" and they'd had a great experience buying a lake home. That's why I do what I do.
I had a great teacher. I had a great Broker/mentor. I have tried to be a great broker/mentor and I have exceptional problem solving skills because I love doing things when I've been told it can't be done.
Along the way when working with a developer to build my first web site in 1998 I ran into my husband in a Yahoo chat room. Youngsters probably don't even know what that is. But I met him there with an ocean and a military commitment he had made that stayed between us for two years, one month and 9 days. Then on Friday the 13th of October of 2000 he flew threw ATL and swept me off my feet completely.
So I have the perfect life. I wake up happy and I go to bed happy. I have days when I am wrecked with exhaustion, but I love what I do every single day. I wouldn't be where I am and as successful as I am without EVERYTHING happened when it happened and how it happened. So no, I wouldn't change much at all. I have the life people read about in fairytales. I was captured over and over by the wicked witch and the evil stepmother, but in the end I was rescued and get my happily ever after. I likely will retire when my husband does. But I will leave a legacy with a 40 ish year long real estate career that I have loved almost every minute of. This job, this life.... it is where God intended me to be.
PS- photos- my sweet grandsons Cooper and MJ, a needlepoint done by a client turned agent who came to work for me because I say it all the time. Mary and Max Lewis at my daughter's wedding... clients who became my best friends and when Mary died I took care of her husband for two and half years until he died (he had dementia) and then Elizabeth who was a client who became my other daughter who was a bridesmaid at my daughter's wedding and later her landlord for a while with my Donald, my daughter and my son in love and myself after a long day... May 13th 2017... the day my family grew. My feature photo: that's me at work in the south when it snowed and everyone else stayed home, but I had stuff to do.
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