TAKING PAUSE IN APPRECIATION AND THANKS: WEEKLY UPDATE 11/29/24

Ah the week of Thanksgiving, one of the busiest weeks of the year for most of us.  Work and school deadlines, travel, family and friends coming and going, all of the preparations made for a wonderful day, and it’s the official start of the holiday season.  There’s so much we look forward to, except on this one day it’s all about taking pause in appreciation and thanks.

With that in mind, rather than real-estate news and information I’ve taken the liberty to share three things I am thankful for:

Brady Bunch: The eldest son and second oldest of 6 kids.

Born and raised in Rochester, NY I was the oldest boy and second oldest of a family of 6 children.  Like the Brady Bunch there were 3 boys and 3 girls and we were all separated by approximately 2 years.  As you can imagine there was never a dull moment (oh the stories…lol).  For us older kids growing up in this environment required us to take on a lot of responsibility at early ages.  Whether it was cooking and preparing meals, doing laundry, helping take care of the younger kids, or getting jobs at early ages.  In many ways we had to grow up quickly and be the example for our younger siblings.  I couldn’t be more thankful for those life lessons, the skills learned that I still use to this day, and the responsibility and accountability that was instilled in me at an early age.

Hard work beats luck:  100 different jobs before the age of 22.

Ok, it wasn’t 100, but I had a lot of different jobs from my childhood through college.  Growing up if we wanted or in many cases needed something we had to find a way to pay for it...so I began working.  My first ever job was at 11 where I had 3 paper routes and everyday I delivered newspapers to the surrounding neighborhoods. From there I was a busboy at a Greek Diner, worked at a car wash, manual labor odd jobs, and worked front of the house or back of the house jobs at almost any restaurant you can think of. I remember being a cook at Red Lobster and my mom would leave a bag on the door handle, and I’d have to change out of my work clothes outside because the smell of seafood on my clothes was so bad.

There was one job that stood above them all. From the age of 14 I worked for my friend's dad Dario. Dario was a 5’6” Italian immigrant who came to the United States as a teen and created the American Dream for his family.  Dario would buy distressed property, fix them up, and rent them out, and when I met Dario he had over 30 properties.  My job was to do whatever Dario needed; demo, dig out crawlspaces, lay pavers, fix roofs, tile floors, or anything else he had for me to do.  Dario had very specific standards; we had to be on the job site by 7:30AM, we worked until lunch, work had to be perfect or done the way he wanted; there was no compromise. Dario paid me well, on time, in cash (don’t tell the IRS), but never minced words and usually told me I was fired at least once a day (he never really meant it). As hard as he was on me, as soon as it was lunch time we’d go to his home where his wife Julie always had the most amazing meal prepared for us.  For the next hour we’d eat, talk, laugh; man could he tell a story or joke.  Even though I could barely understand his broken English at times, I understood his heart and as tough as he was I always felt like I was learning and earning way more than a paycheck.  I am so thankful I not only learned the value of hard work, but the importance of a standard of excellence; a higher standard requires more than simply getting the job done, often includes tough conversations, and can be done with love.

Each of You:  Seven years, hundreds of transactions, thousands of conversations, and millions of moments.

After 14+ years with an incredible organization, serving multiple roles, traveling the country, developing amazing relationships, some awesome accomplishments, and honestly a pretty comfortable place in life…I couldn’t shake the tug at my heart to go for it.  I’ll never forget the feeling that day seven years ago when I walked out of corporate America for the last time; “gotta make it happen, there is no safety net.” Funny enough I wake up everyday with that feeling, but because of each of you I don’t worry about failure and instead work towards building with purpose. If you are receiving this email it’s because we have had the chance to work with each other or you have supported me or my family through friendship, encouragement, or advice.  If there’s one thing this industry/profession has done for me, it’s made it crystal clear that I don’t have all the answers, all the best ideas, and it’s definitely not about me.  It’s truly about what I/we can do for others and who I’m surrounded by. To those who have supported, and past/current/future clients I know you have many options, and the greatest compliment to me is being offered your trust…in my opinion trust is the most valuable currency one can attain. I want you to know I am so very thankful for each of you!

I hope you have a safe and fun weekend full of thanks and remember…We’re never as great as our best day - We’re never as bad as our worst day; Be Confident - Stay Humble.

Steve