Persistence and a willingness to do what others are not pays off!!
This amazing group of folks has been working hard to get started in multifamily, to grow their portfolio, and create community. You see they live in TriCities, WA and there’s nothing really happening there in the commercial and multifamily real estate space. So they have been driving 4- 6 hours twice a month for many months to be a part of a community where they can learn, network, and get started.
The older blonde woman in the picture owns a venue space in Kennewick and is retired but wanted to be able to keep networking with folks regarding commercial and multifamily real estate. These young folks decided they needed something closer to also be a blessing to others and so they started their own meetup in the Tri cities called Tap in real estate meetup. So once they connected with Zdrenka, they had their venue then they just needed to start their speaker lineup.
They found me on LinkedIn almost 6 months ago and just kept in touch, met for lunch one time, and reached out for guidance. So after seeing them put into practice all the things I had taught them, as well as others, I was honored to be asked to be the 1st speaker.
Little did they know it would mean me having to face some of my past hurts to speak for them. So from the time it was in my calendar, I was praying and working through them. You see I came from that area and I have alot of negative emotions attached to it. To the point that even to go visit family almost makes me vomit every time.
I know that the whole city didn’t commit the crimes against me, nor do many of those people even still live there. But I still had to do the work, dig up the past, disassociate those feelings and hurts from the area and the current residents, and reframe my thoughts to be able to speak and be a blessing to those folks.
It is not easy, not fun, and not pleasurable, but God is faithful and He saw me through it. So that by the time I was done speaking, I knew I had passed on a blessing to those folks as well as was able to spend time with my family and not feel the oppressive spirit and anger well up.
The other man at the end, Dan Sekine, also drove 4 hours to come support them and hear me because he too has been focused on growing his business and staying connected with like minded people. It took persistence on all of these young people’s part to get me to drive 5 hours to speak for them and all of us stepping out of our comfort zone to do what others are not willing to do for this event to happen.
They killed it, they had 45 people show up to their 1st event and they are off and running. They inspired another group to start a group in their area because they drive an hour to get there.
Covid showed some folks how damaging it is to not be around others and how important community is, but for those of us who have known for years, it is the icing on the cake. Getting out there and being a part of something bigger than yourself always brings great rewards for your efforts. So what new group will you try to connect with? This week? This month? This year? It doesn’t matter which one, just pick one and get back out there. Let’s show the world we’re not afraid any more and people really do matter more!
