Happy damp and cold Friday good friend :)
Today makes the 96th post of my grateful Friday thoughts. Over the almost two years of doing this I've only intentionally taken a break... black Friday... not doing so is a nice mental break but also makes for a very long weekend as I feel I've left something out of my routine. :)
Never in a million years would I have thought my random Friday thoughts would lead to such an impact on me and others. It's a blessing to share these with you, so thank you very much :)
A little more than 2 years ago this past September an old friend of mine popped into an open house I was rocking. I had gone to school with her since my 4th grade, her 3rd grade. We ultimately transferred to the same new elementary then to the same high school. Up until that weekend, I had not seen her since high school. (long ass time ago)
We hit it off as we caught up on life and came to find out we shared a close connection with my buddy Chris Pike. (RIP)... She and her husband were hoping to go find a home of their own in the coming year or so and signed in and we shared contact info. Off an on we'd touch base and as soon as I started my grateful Fridays I was sure to keep her in the loop on my weekly thoughts.
This past March I wrote a post about Avin in the effort he committed to trying out of the schools flag football team... which he didn't make that year however, his effort was moving and I was compelled to tell his story. ...
My goal in my writings has always been of the position to be positive, emotionally vulnerable, but most of all, create a safe place should someone need help or want a buddy to bounce things off of.
I ended that post about Avin with this statement:
I hope this weekend you can step outside your comfort zone and do something you've never done before. :) If you want someone to bounce an idea off or encourage you to take that personal leap of faith... Chas and I are just a phone call away. :)
With a mixture of what I said and the ending statement there, my friend Brianne reached out asking for guidance as she wanted to step outside her comfort zone. The moving part for me was that she said she had been following these ever since my first one and found them motivating. My post about Avin was #59...and those thoughts encouraged someone, my friend Brianne, to step way outside her comfort zone.
As mentioned she had been following the progression of how I approach real estate and really enjoyed the motivation of our why and felt comfortable being uncomfortable wanting to become a real estate agent. Brianne has a full time job and is a mother of 3... so to make that kind of commitment was long waited and required a special kind of effort.
A couple days after that email we met for coffee one evening and talked for almost 2 hours about the whats and what not... we talked about the real work of this industry and what it means to serve people, not sell people. She knew the tightness of the business Chas and I have and are not in a spot to feed people leads (yet) but were always a safe place for someone to come be themselves and we'd teach them all we knew so they could teach and become the a safe place for others to come to.
Brianne was in! :)
Ironically... months later... as Avin and his football teammates pursued their middle-school dreams of going to the championships, my friend Brianne passed the school, state and national real estate exams and is our newest Orange family member. :) Brianne has a unique day job working with probates and wills.. now having the tools of a licensed realtor will allow her to serve people another step further while they are in an unforgettable chapter of their life. This is a safe place :)
Two years ago this month I would never have imagined what the color Orange would become. Should there ever be a need across the valley for real estate, Brianne, Jane, Nicole, Ryan, Chas, and myself would be grateful to help however we can. :)... and if real estate is not a need, but you need a buddy to talk to, shovel a pile of rock, or be a mental wing-man in a chapter of life you're struggling with... I'm just a call a way. <3
Please help us welcome our friend Brianne :)
Crafting these thoughts together it's amazing to me how parallel the timing of Avin's and Brianne's commitment to effort was. This Friday was about Brianne and I'm so proud of her, we're so proud of her., :) ...next week I will be sure to share Avin's triumph with you, #77 is a champion.
-Josh & Chas
PS... Chas's birthday was this past Tuesday... she's just as old and crusty as me now! :P 11/27 was her's 8th anniversary of being 29 >D
with love!