My “Why”

by Grant Graham

Have you taken the time to sit down, look at your life and figure out why it is that you do what you do? This could apply to your career, home life, reading habits, traveling, eating habits, exercise and the list goes on. Why are you doing the things you do and are you happy with the choices you have made? If you are not happy, what are you doing to change your situation?

Change is difficult. It takes us outside of our comfort zone. It requires effort and it means we have to break the current established patterns we have put in place. Our natural inclination is to leave well enough alone and stay exactly the way we are. But, if you stop and look at it from a different vantage point, you might see that you are holding yourself back from feeling better, being more successful in life and robbing yourself of happiness. In order to change your habits and move in a new direction, you have to get to what I call the “threshold” point. This is where you realize that you need to make a change, the change has to come from you and it has to be now. Once you are at threshold, then making the change is much easier.

I have made a lot of changes in my life in the past few years. My family moved from southern to northern Ontario. We moved for many reasons but the key was to be closer to family. This change led to career changes and the opening of a yoga studio where my wife and I deliver not only good health practices but we also have created a connection with the community. We left behind the corporate world of anonymity where I worked tirelessly for somebody else’s gain and have shifted to a world where we are working for ourselves and delivering a product that truly makes a difference in ours and our customer’s lives.

This is also the reason why I chose to get into the real estate business and why I have stayed in it despite the market going through the worst times it has seen in the past 30 years. Real estate looks like a wonderful job if you subscribe to the shows on HGTV. I can tell you first hand that it is a very challenging career with many highs and lows. More lows than highs recently. The work is worth all of the lows. Having the opportunity to help somebody through the sale and purchase of their home is amazing. This is one of the most stressful experiences people go through in life. They need a competent guide to walk them through the process, make sure they get the best deal possible and be protected financially when the sale is complete. Being a key part in helping another family find a better home (or maybe their first home) is a job that immediately shows you a return on your efforts by making that family happy and accomplished. Helping others is a great feeling and also makes me feel good and validated having provided a worthy service. This is why I do what I do. Both at the yoga studio and out buying and selling homes – I am making a difference in people’s lives and loving every minute of it.