The Heart of Utah

I Love My Profession Because...I Have Found My Purpose

I Love My Profession Because…

This morning I read a great post by Celeste "Sally" Cheesman which lead me to Mike Mueller, who has extended out the invitation for everybody to write “I love My Profession Because”. Immediately I was excited about this opportunity to share with the world why I love my profession.

As those words repeat in my head “I Love My Profession Because”, I have found myself on a journey of what really got me here, to something I do love so much and am completely passionate about.

Growing up an only child, I was found to have quite the imagination, to be a bit of a dreamer and to always be finding ways to share my heart with others. I had to be this way. My survival and determination depended on it. (more on that in another blog)

When I was in High School, I had been called down to the counselor’s office. (no I hadn’t done anything outrageous. No juice here). My counselor asked a really profound question. “What goals do you have for yourself, what do you want to do with your life after High School”? It didn’t take me long to answer his question. “I’m going to college at UCLA and I’m going to be a psychologist. I want to help people solve their problems and make them happy”.

Graduation came, my determination was still there, however UCLA was not the college I went to. I made the decision to stay home with my sweet Mom and attend the University of Utah. While I was in college I found myself not feeling passionate about the idea of being a psychologist. The reality of the profession came out and I was afraid that if I were trying to fix everybody’s problems, somebody would have to fix me. I take it all to heart when somebody is hurting and I would want to truly solve their problems. Realistically that wouldn't be healthy for me. My gut and my heart steered me in a different direction and often times I felt like I was on some sort of treasure hunt for my purpose.

Then, I found the love of my life, got married, 3 years later had twin baby boys and then my little girl 10 years after that. I have always loved being Mom. The gift that it has given me everyday, to nurture, love and be with my children and watch them grow, is a treasure and a well defined purpose. Prior to real estate I had worked for the Davis County School District, UPS and jetBlue airways. Each of these jobs gave me a lot of rewards, by teaching me the tools I needed to work with the public. Also the amount of wonderful friends and customers that I met along the way is priceless.

All this time I was searching for my purpose. I knew that being Mom was part of that plan, but there was something else that I was supposed to be doing. That something was missing in my life. It was frustrating and debilitating at times, trying to figure it out. Everybody wants to feel their purpose. But I couldn’t find it. So that’s when I stepped away from the thought for a while and convinced myself that it will come in time.

And it did. My real father (we have had a very distant relationship) came back into my life. We had been trying to mend our relationship at the time. He would be the last person that I would expect to help me in finding that answer to what I was searching for. My purpose! He shared with me a bad experience he had with a real estate agent. He then proceeded to say, “Why don’t you go to school to be a Realtor, you would be good at it”. I laughed and said “Oh Dad, I wouldn’t fit in with real estate agents” (poor perception. Adam Waldman has a great blog about this subject). He insisted I try. So he signed me and his wife up for school. With each class completed I became more and more excited. I couldn’t wait to get started.

Now 1 year and 5 months later from receiving my license I can tell you. I’m no longer searching for my purpose. I have found it!

People search their whole lives for that something, that drive, that purpose that gets them up in the morning and makes them completely excited about their day. One that if asked, they will stand on a mountain top and shout "I Love My Profession Because..."

LIFTING HEARTS: My clients are of great value to me. I truly love them. Not because they're helping me to bring in a paycheck, but because with each new person I work with, they are allowing me into their life. This is their moment. They have trust in me and share many of their own life experiences. I get to ask them for a hug and reap that beautiful reward of a new friend.
BUILDING DREAMS: Being a part of the whole process in making that dream come true. When my clients come to tears of joy and reach over to give me a hug and say "thank you". That makes every bit of that purpose worth while.
EXCITING: Being so excited about my gift (job) that I want to shout it out to the world. I love my gift! *as I refer to the Gift throughout this story, that Gift is my job, my profession*
FLEXIBILITY: Being able to work around my family and their needs. After all they are apart of my team too and if I don't keep them happy then I'm not fulfilling my gift completely. Each of my family members need to know without doubt my love for them and that does have to be expressed often because it gets so busy in this profession.
PEOPLE: I have to say, that over the past year I have met some of the most amazing people. How blessed my life has been because of each and every one of them. Everyone from clients to affiliates and colleagues to a simple stranger that I had the opportunity to reach out to. Thank you to each of them.
FRIENDSHIP: All the "people" mentioned up above and all the many beautiful friends here in the rain.
EXPERIENCES: Every transaction brings a new experience. I love the challenge.
IMAGINATION: Sure I love to write poetry and scrapbook my children's memories, but with real estate I can also use my imagination to market properties and market for new clients. It put some extra fun into my gift.
CONTINUING EDUCATION: Search, Seek, Find and Do. I love to learn something new. In real estate there is always something new to learn and it’s not hard to find.
DOING THE RIGHT THING: I love that we have strong ethics that we need to stand by. That forces people into making wise decisions and never making the excuse to do something in the gray area. It gives me hope that I am surrounded by honest people, with high standards.
I CAN JUST BE ME: Real Estate is a place where I can just be me. I get to find amazing things to do for the community, for my clients and other Realtors. Habitat for Humanity, blood drives, food drives, and the Chamber of Commerce.
MARKETING: I love the creative side of marketing. What next? It gives me a chance to put all my energy into action.
TEAMWORK: I love to be working with some absolutely incredible people. Lender's, title, inspector, clients, and my family. We all make this happen together. They are not working for me, they are working with me.
ACTIVE RAIN: I love playing in the rain. It's like my family here. The amount of knowledge that can be gained from spending some time here is limitless. The friendships are ones to always be cherished.
HAPPINESS:Being apart of the happiness that my clients are feeling while they are taking the necessary steps in home ownership. I feel happiness with each new client I start working with, because all I can think is "another life long friend".
ENERGY: I love that I have a place to direct all my energy, drive and ambition. I've always been a multi-multi-multi tasker.
BELIEVE: I have learned to believe in myself. I love that feeling of knowing without doubt that I can and I will accomplish whatever it is I set my mind to do.

Thank you Mike for the inspiration to write this post. Although I have found my purpose professionally, I feel that we have many purposes in life. This is just a sweet taste of it.

Written and Posted By: Julie Neerings, GRI- Heart of Utah Real Estate Copyright © 2007- Julie Neerings, GRI
Julie Neerings, Exit Realty Unlimited, is a Utah Realtor® who specializes along the Wasatch Front, from Ogden to Provo. To find out more information about her real estate services please visit her profile . You are welcome to contact her by phone at 801-859-9381/801-506-0305 or by email at JulieNeerings@yahoo.com . You can click to view her listings or visit her website. Thank you for your visit.