Faith.

“Faith is taking the first step, even when you don’t see the whole staircase” … one of my favorite quotes from the late, great Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Seems very fitting to share today.

When I think about the experiences in my life that have been the most life-changing, the big chances that I have taken, not a single one of them was clear. I didn’t know where they would lead, I didn’t understand everything that would happen, and I didn’t know who I would need to be in order to be successful.

But I did know that I needed to take the chance, make the change, move in that direction … and so I did so in faith. And with each step … some smaller than others, the next step (or 3 or 5) would sometimes slowly, sometimes quickly come into focus.

When I took that first step, almost 17 years ago, into my real estate career I had no clue where it would take me. I simply wanted, needed, to make a living. I didn’t know that it would be a source of great sacrifice, but also great flexibility and opportunity. I didn’t know that it would provide my family with great financial gains, but also times of near financial ruin. I didn’t know that I would be building a business … my business … that would be a great source of pride and joy, but also exhaustion and depletion.

If I had known all of the ups and downs, would I have continued up the staircase? Who knows. I was a different person then, than I am now, and I have the journey to thank for that. Perhaps that is why we can only see the first step and need to move forward in faith, if we knew all the bad that goes along with the good maybe we wouldn’t take the chance at all.