It's one of those overcast days in West Michigan. Typical of fall when the rain stops and starts, and the sun can't quite seem to determine if it's safe to emerge for good. The trees have shed most of their leaves, courtesy of a surprise snowfall early in the month of November, but the snow has not established a sustainable presence. Which is fine by me. That can wait.
We are launching our website for LA Speaking today. It's been a process which has been over two years in the making. With starts and stops and sometimes apprehension moving forward towards a shift in my career focus and concentration. According to my dad, who labelled me a 'Talkative' since my earliest formations of syllables, I've been communicating for a very long time.
Communication for me is a deep dive into curiosity about people, what makes them tick, why we thrive or fail to and why things work the way they do...or don't. From my earliest recollections, I've been a seeker of wisdom. At its core, wisdom brings a context to life even if it doesn't always provide a ready explanation.
Wisdom for me is a comfort and a challenge. A journey which takes me in spits and spurts towards new levels of wondering, questioning and engaging deeply. I find its presence arresting and daunting at the same time. The search for wisdom is what inspires my desire to share information, exploring a topic for nuance, depth and differences in meaning and context.
The past two decades have been spent learning and expanding my knowledge base in all things 'real estate'. However, the course of that journey yielded some interesting starts and stops as the early years of the career were the calm before the storm of the economic crisis which lasted not months, but years. The experience and lessons learned personally and professionally have been life changing. There's a grit which becomes ingrained in core space when you go through a period of sustained trauma. There's also strength and the power of faith which grounds the roots which stay put. Anything which can be shaken, generally is.
I no longer look at financial markets in the same way and I feel a different type of compassion for people as I witnessed a lot of loss in spaces and places where the grief and pain of financial pressure were unwelcome intruders. And in these spaces, wisdom remains my teacher. Listening, learning, growing and sharing - that is what I've always wanted to do, was born to do and commence doing in a new more intentional way through LA Speaking. Let's talk.
