3 Simple Words
May 22, 2011. 11 years ago that feel like an eternity ago. The mountains behind me are the Hindu Kush mountains near Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan. If you’ve read the book or seen the movie “Lone Survivor,” it is in those mountains where that story of heroism, selflessness and sacrifice took place. If you’re a fellow CrossFitter, the origins of the Hero WOD “Murph” that we will all do again this Memorial Day lie there as well.
I was about a month into a deployment that would take me to early November 2011. It was my first deployment into a war zone as compared to being deployed aboard aircraft carriers in the 1990s. As in many things in life, this deployment would forever change me but in the big picture, was just another “brick in the wall” of a lifetime of serving that continues today some 11 years later and yet another deployment in 2020 to the Horn of Africa.
As I jumped into real estate and became a fully licensed “Realtor” this past December after passing this state test, I sat down with the marketing department at my broker as well as my mentor. She, my mentor, threw out “At Your Service” as a “tag line” for my business cards, logo, etc. I was seriously struggling with how to project and market myself authentically. These three words, in my opinion, convey my heart to serve you and others, my lifetime of service since 1991 and my passion of servant leadership. It is quite literally woven into the fabric of who I am. When I think back to “Where did this come from?” I can only think of my time at Regent University which is my alma mater for my graduate degree. The idea of “servant leadership” is a pillar there and putting ourselves last in the service of others. While I first enlisted in 1991, it wasn’t until now that this concept and passion came into focus. It is also how some great companies have been founded such as Chick-Fil-A and Wal-Mart.
I showed a home this past week that was nearly 3/4 of a million dollars. I had a fantastic time showing it to the potential buyers but mostly the conversation that followed in the sprinkling rain. Talking about our faith, our families and things that are truly important in life highlighted our chat. While I am tip-toeing into this profession ahead of retiring from my full time job as a civil servant, I am most energized by these interactions with other humans and hearing what is truly important to them with the opportunity to come alongside them in service.
While I was in Afghanistan, I carried this massive flag…the kind that covers the caskets of veterans at their funerals and is presented to the next of kin graveside. It was the flag of a friend’s father and he asked me to take it with me and fly it “in the face of the enemy” in Afghanistan. The photo below is the day we flew that exact flag over the 101st Airborne’s headquarters and I rendered a salute…to Old Glory…to my friend’s dad. This photo conjures up all of the feelings that I have of service…and honor…and respect. It truly was my honor to serve my friend and father in this way.
Three simple words, a heart of service and an expectation of great things to come in the future in the service of others! Let me know how I can serve you!
