William's Places

Giving It All You’ve Got

Nothing deep, nothing special this week, but a simple reminder that in everything that we do, we ought to do it with every ounce of our being. It takes only a little effort to accomplish many of the tasks that we set out to do each day. But the more we put into what we do, no matter whether it is in our work, or in our homes, or in our time with God, the results, and the rewards are infinitesimally greater than when we only put in minimal effort.

This Week’s Scripture: Ecclesiastes 9:10 (New Living Translation)

 ¹⁰ Whatever you do, do well. For when you go to the grave,^[a] there will be no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.

Inspired by Loreena Yeo's God First weekly posts, I am beginning this New Year with A Needed Word, a weekly message that I hope you will find inspiring, uplifting, and useful both professionally and personally.

For My Good…

My good friend Loreena today in her God First post shared some of her recent personal tragedy and how, in speaking with a new client, she was reminded of where her priorities should lie as they shared scripture.

Sometimes we go through personal pain and suffering, and we wonder, Lord, why?

I was amazed, encouraged, and inspired by Loreena’s introspection – she took a bad situation and used it to re-focus on the things that are truly important in life.

Even as I go through my own personal crises, I have to step back and see the greater purpose for those events transpiring in my life.

When God wants to get our attention, He knows just how to do it so that we will come back in line with His will for us, when we have wandered off the straight and narrow path.

He never puts us through anything for our hurt. The trials and tests and sufferings and pains that He allows us to go through is always to bring us closer to Him, to make us more conformable to His will.

Sometimes, as Loreena pointed out in her post, we don’t see the other side of things, and we end up missing out, messing up, or a little of both…but God knows our end from the beginning, and knows what’s best for us. So He will allow events to transpire in our lives that will draw us up short, cause us to stop and pause, and really consider what we are doing.

And because God does everything that He does for us for our good, He doesn’t limit His correction to just our personal lives, no. He reaches into our professional lives as well. Those clients we didn’t get, those deals that didn’t go through, those calls we missed, the appointments we were unable to keep, all of the things that we would normally chalk up to our own failure to be the very best at what we do, even in those things we need to take a step back and realize that God meant it all for our good…

This week’s Scripture: Romans 8:28 (New Living Translation)

²⁸ And we know that God causes everything to work together^[a] for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

Inspired by Loreena Yeo's God First weekly posts, I am beginning this New Year with A Needed Word, a weekly message that I hope you will find inspiring, uplifting, and useful both professionally and personally.

Staying in the Press…

It never ceases to amaze me that in the middle of all the turbulence of life that so many people continue to not only survive, but thrive.

I do honestly believe that the reason that this is so is simply because those who do have a goal in mind, and a plan to reach that goal. Furthermore, because they have that goal firmly fixed in their mind, they will let nothing keep them from achieving it.

Such tenacity, such drive, means that one consistently presses their way towards their goal. Obstacles will come, but they remain in the press…delays come, but they stay in the press…failures occur, but they stay in the press…disappointments come, but they stay in the press…

When those leads don’t quite pan out, do you give up, or do you stay in the press? When that offer gets countered, do you throw in the towel, or do you stay in the press? When you are passed over after a listing appointment for another agent, do you stay in the press and move on to the next appointment?

In order to succeed in this business, it is imperative that you stay in the press….

This week’s Scripture: Philippians 3:14 (New Living Translation)

¹⁴ I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

Inspired by Loreena Yeo's God First weekly posts, I am beginning this New Year with A Needed Word, a weekly message that I hope you will find inspiring, uplifting, and useful both professionally and personally.

The Keys to Happiness…

….are not found in the abundance of material things that we have. Those things are temporary, and will come and go as we travel through life.

…are not found in the number of friends we have, or even in the quality of the relationships we build. Every person in our lives enriches us, and we in turn enrich them (or at least they should, and we should). Nevertheless, the transient nature of our very existence makes it clear that even people who we love and cherish are not the source of joy and contentment in our lives.

…are not found in even the transactions that we successfully close, the homes we list, or the buyers we gain through our efforts both on-line and off. Yes, there is a certain…satisfaction in listing a home, converting a buyer into a client, and getting through the process of negotiating and closing a home sale transaction, but the constant effort we must expend in achieving those ends, and the disappointments we often face on the road to those ends makes maintaining that type of happiness very elusive indeed.

No, the keys to happiness are simply found in knowing God, and letting Him direct our steps. Simply knowing that God knows all things and sees ahead of us is a source of strength and consolation in the middle of uncertainty, it speaks calm in the midst of turbulence, and dispels anxiety, fear, and doubt when it seems like all hope is lost. It keeps us from being distracted by the very things that will cause us to be unhappy, if we let them.


Proverbs 20:24 (New Living Translation)
24 The LORD directs our steps,
so why try to understand everything along the way?

Inspired by Loreena Yeo's God First weekly posts, I am beginning this New Year with A Needed Word, a weekly message that I hope you will find inspiring, uplifting, and useful both professionally and personally.

Where Do You See God's Glory?

Nothing deep or inspirational today, but just a simple reminder that God is amazing.

I was driving home yesterday from showing one of my sellers some houses, and as I was driving along the highway, the scene in from of me shifted from a wall of white clouds to an amazing tapestry, as wisps of clouds hung in one spot, and beyond that, an entire curtain of clouds was seemingly ripped to reveal the sunlight, creating all hues of purple and blue and gold in the sky. I could not stop and take a picture (wish that I could!), but I remarked right there on the spot, "God, you are like the greatest artist ever...I love what you've done with the sky, it is so awesome." It was so remarkable to me, that I even posted it on my FaceBook page.

As you go through life, where do you see God's glory?

This Week's Scripture: Psalm 19:1 (New Living Translation) For the choir director: A psalm of David.

¹ The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
      The skies display his craftsmanship.

Inspired by Loreena Yeo's God First
weekly posts, I am beginning this New Year with A Needed Word,
a weekly message that I hope you will find inspiring, uplifting, and useful
both professionally and personally.

Our Plans, or God's Plan?

Going into business for one's self is no easy task, but is definitely worth the hours...or is it?

You see, we make plans, we make strategies, we write goals, we implement them, but we really don't know what the end results will be on any given day.

But there is one person whose plans are certain to come to pass. And, when we put our plans in His hands, and let Him order our steps, we may not see the final result right away, but we can rest in the assurance that His plans will be in our best interest, no matter how the outcome may look at the present moment. Even when it seems like our plans have gone awry, He knows the plans He has for us...

This Week's Scripture: Jeremiah 29:11 (New Living Translation)

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

Inspired by Loreena Yeo's God First weekly posts, I am beginning this New Year with A Needed Word, a weekly message that I hope you will find inspiring, uplifting, and useful both professionally and personally.

Just Keep On Working….

I’ve been reading and hearing about how discouraging it has been (and still is, for some) to work with people trying to save their homes, only to have the banks engage in all types of shenanigans that result in those same people losing their homes to the banks.

I’ve also heard and read about the negative perception that many people have of real estate agents; the most common phrase is “you only care about the sale”.

I know for myself and for so many others, that it is definitely not the case, that there is no truth in the statement, yet it is a belief that continues to permeate across our society.

Continually hearing such messages may persuade many who are in it for the right reasons to give up and throw in the towel, leaving the very ones who fit the description of a heartless money-grubbing agent as the only ones who can help those homeowners who are in distress.

To you I say Just keep on working. Those clients who you have helped remember the time and effort you put into helping them to save their credit and get out of a rather complicated and messy situation, and the while the compensation may not always be the greatest, remember that the greatest reward is in the fact that you served the needs of your client first and foremost, and doing that was the reason why you ventured into that field in the first place.

This Week’s Scripture: Galatians 6:9 (New Living Translation)

⁹ So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.

Inspired by Loreena Yeo's God First weekly posts, I am beginning this New Year with A Needed Word, a weekly message that I hope you will find inspiring, uplifting, and useful both professionally and personally.

Seeking God’s Direction…

This week is a reminder as we move forward with our plans for our lives, for our businesses, for anything that we do, that God must be first in those plans.

Proverbs 3:5-6 says “Trust in the Lord, and lean not to thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct thy paths.”

Do we seek God’s direction for our lives, for our business? Can we truly prosper without His blessing upon what we want to do?

I see God’s hand working in my life with regard to my real estate business, because one, I wouldn’t even be in real estate if He hadn’t directed me to do so almost 4 years ago; and two, since He was the one who set me on this path, I cannot help but to be blessed.

If you have been trusting in God to guide you as you practice your business and it doesn’t seem like things are working out, just keep this in mind - just because the results aren’t immediate does not mean that it was not God who was in the plans. Remember, Abraham was sent out of his homeland and promised a new place. He walked the land of Canaan during his lifetime, but it was his descendants, the Israelites, who received the promise. Also, God told Abraham that he would have a son in his old age, when his wife, Sarah, had been barren for all those years and were past childbearing age. Twenty-five years passed before Isaac was born.

When new activities are presented to me in my broker’s coaching sessions and even online here in the Rain, I find myself asking, “God, this sounds good, but is this how I should proceed?” before I start doing anything. If He gives me the ok, then I move forward. Then there are times that I have tried different activities, and I say to God, “if it is your will that I be blessed in this, I thank you in advance.” He always proves to me what is of Him and what is of me, but the most important thing for me is that I came to Him first.

When we have God’s direction in our lives, both personal or in business, the outcome is certain, although the road to that outcome may not seem so easy. With His direction in our lives, we cannot help but have good success!

This Week’s Scripture: Proverbs 3:5-6 (New Living Translation)

 ⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
      do not depend on your own understanding.
 ⁶ Seek his will in all you do,
      and he will show you which path to take.

Inspired by Loreena Yeo's God First weekly posts, I am beginning this New Year with A Needed Word, a weekly message that I hope you will find inspiring, uplifting, and useful both professionally and personally.

Speak Life

As some of you may already know, I have been facing quite a series of personal crises in my life lately, and I must admit, I had gotten to the point where I just didn’t see any hope at all, not in my business life, not in my home life, not in anything.

But I pressed my way to church Friday night, where we usually have a prayer and praise service. We were few in number, but my pastor’s wife gave us a very dynamic and inspirational word from James 3:1-12, on the power of the tongue. Her focus was on the very fact that we can use our tongues to accomplish good, or to accomplish evil, and for us as God’s people, we are to use our tongues to defeat the enemy’s purposes in our lives by speaking the word, by speaking words of life, by speaking words of encouragement and uplift. Her message resonated with me on so many levels, as I had been meditating on II Corinthians 10:4 – For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds – and it clicked!

It is not just a matter of “positive thinking”, but rather a matter of activating our faith. When we speak life to our selves, to our situations, to our circumstances, our minds take another turn, and focus of what God has for us. We then begin to act in line with the words we have spoken, and we see God turning things around, we see our lives conforming to our spoken expectations.

I started speaking life to myself. I will have my home back together. My finances will be in order. I will be able to continue providing for my family and be comfortable in doing it. I will have peace in every important relationship I have.

Want a better year in real estate than you had in 2010? Speak life to it. Are there any issues in your life that aren’t quite right? Speak life to it. You have the power, so use it!

This Week’s Scripture: Proverbs 18:21 (New International Version, ©2010)

 ²¹ The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.