Being in the Real Estate Industry is Awesome!
/“This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one, being a force of nature instead of a feverish selfish clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can.”
I read this last night (quote from George Bernard Shaw) and can think of no better way to describe the opportunity we have every day to help our clients as they pursue home ownership. Every single client provides a new opportunity for us to invest in them personally. We get the opportunity to get to know them in a unique way and serve them during a time of personal fulfillment. I am so guilty of sometimes getting caught up in the numbers game: How many loans am I closing this month? What was my volume last year? How do I rank among my peers? And while all of that does matter – particularly for someone with a competitive spirit, it’s not what is ultimately most important. When we look back on our lives and our accomplishments, the people that we were able to serve and help improve their lives (spiritually, financially, physically, emotionally and philanthropically), is what will ultimately determine the value of our efforts.
A friend of mine, who is in his early 30’s and has a business installing and repairing AC units, was sharing with me the other day about how much fulfillment he gets from his job – he gets to help people, make their lives more fulfilled, save them money, and make enough money to meet all of his needs. Great perspective. Similarly, I had dinner with an older friend recently and when we started talking about little idiosyncrasies with our respective employments, he commented, “If you never dread Monday’s, you never look at the clock during the day for the purpose of determining how much longer you have to work that day, and you make a positive difference in the lives of the people you serve, you have found a job worth having.” Well, that is exactly what our jobs in the real estate industry provide us. The sooner we recognize that blessing, the sooner in our own lives we can start focusing on how to be a blessing to others – which is ultimately the true measure of success!
When we make our mission one that focuses on the improvement of others, and not just on selling or financing real estate, we understand what a privilege it is to get to do what we do. Success follows.
These past 3 months have been a roller coaster ride. Rates have gone down, back up, and back down again. We are back to really low levels, but looking very much like we are heading for another dip that could move rates back up a tad – so keep an eye out.