For five years, Giveback Homes has been providing step by step instructions on how to make giving part of your everyday real estate business, for five years we’ve been sharing the stories of realtors, brokerages and companies across the country who have taken our advice and are now making an impact both in their communities and throughout the world. For five years, I’ve witnessed just how much heart this industry really has. And for that I’m grateful…
Here are some lessons I’ve learned in five years of giving that you can apply to your real estate business today:
There is no such thing as a "selfless act" because no matter what, your body is engineered to make you feel good when you do something for someone else. Consider the last time you helped someone that wasn’t expecting it at all. It can be small like when you acknowledge someone with a smile or give a few dollars to the homeless person you walk by every day.
Do you feel good afterward? Even if it’s brief. It’s because there’s a chemical reaction occurring inside of you, endorphins rush through your body, and they make you feel good. That’s why its human instinct to help each other. And whether you do something small or big, you end up having a little more pep in your step, you’re smiling you feel good.
Very rarely do we at Giveback Homes directly ask people to donate to a project. We always try to come from a place of the story, by sharing examples of what people have stepped up to do and that drives more donations than simply sending out an eblast with a link to donate. Jessica Northrop, a real estate agent in Denver, CO first traveled with us to Nicaragua in 2016 to help build a home for a family in need.
Jessica shared every step of her journey with her friends, family, clients on social media. She never asked for donations, she just shared her stories. After then something really cool happened, Jessica's vendors, clients, and friends started to reach out to her, asking how to donate or get involved in her next project. Since then, she’s gone on to completely fund another home for a family in Nicaragua and funded two build days in Denver to support affordable housing projects.
My favorite part of the job is getting to lead people on Build Trips to Central America so they can experience, first-hand the impact of Giveback Homes. You can’t really explain that feeling when you come face to face with a family that can never pay you back for something you’ve helped them with, especially when that something is a safe home.
These kind of Giving trips are still not a common thing for people to do, most can hardly find time for a vacation. But finding time is easier than you think to make both a vacation and a Giving Trip are entirely possible.
Legacy is something we don’t spend nearly enough time thinking about, but the reason we are all here living our best lives is that everyone before us aimed to leave us, this place, better than they found it. We are the amalgamation of billions and billions of legacies that have taught us how to be better people. Legacy is what connects you to humanity and it always has to do with making a difference in someone else’s life, not just your family, but with bettering the human race.
Get in the habit of reminding yourself of our humanity – that we are all just doing our best to leave this place better than we found it.
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