January is always a very powerful month for me. Kicking off the year with my birthday tends to sharpen my focus on how I plan to leverage the challenges and inspiration from the previous year to shape what lies ahead.
Never before has the collective inspiration from a 12-month span been the source of so much momentum.
At the beginning of 2013, the Seniors Real Estate Institute was a fledgling entity – the fulfillment of a dream of how I could best be of service, drawing upon my education, experience and passion for serving seniors. As it turns out, as evidenced by the extraordinary real estate and senior housing professionals whom I encountered every month of last year, the universe was in alignment.
Congratulations are in order for every one of the nearly 1,000 professionals who participated in either one of our live training opportunities or a telecourse last year. Time is a precious commodity and those who chose to devote their time to the kind of training that will position them at the forefront of the real estate industry’s next major wave are truly an inspiration to me.
The more than 60 real estate agents (and the dozens more in the process of doing so) who took the extra several steps to earn their Certified Senior Housing Professional (CSHP) designation stand to be even that much further ahead of the curve in the months and years ahead
Change is tough. We all have a tendency to resist it to varying degrees, and last year, I had the privilege of working with and witnessing hundreds of professionals who committed to change the trajectory of their careers in the service of seniors – a market segment that for too long has been essentially ignored as a distinct entity with distinct needs.
The inspiration that I gained last year from the participants in our courses brings to mind one of my favorite quotes:
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead
To the thoughtful, committed professionals who took the first steps with us last year, Congratulations. To all of you who will join us in this journey in 2014, Welcome.