(11/13) “One of the first things they teach you in real estate school is you’ll be surpr
(11/13) “One of the first things they teach you in real estate school is you’ll be surprised by the people who don’t give you business. But you’ll be even more surprised by the people who do. Only one of my friends would hire me. The rest thought that I had no clue what I was doing. It was the people I didn’t know. They’re the ones who gave me a chance. It didn’t take me long to learn that the wealthy people had agents already. It was the smaller houses: the newlyweds, the middle-class people, the first-time buyers. That’s where I got my start. When Tripp went to prison my credit score was less than 520. But every time I made a sale, I’d use the commission to pay off a little more of our debt. After a few months I was able to refinance the house. That first year I made $100,000. But I still managed to get home for dinner every night. If I ever had a showing, John would help watch his sisters. There were times he’d be mowing the front lawn, and his siblings would be hanging off the side of the lawnmower. John’s always been like the guy version of me. He’s very even-keeled. Even with everything going on, he was still a straight A student. He was captain of his football team. His home life had fallen apart, but he’d be in the locker room telling his teammates: ‘Be good to your parents, stay out of trouble.’ The coaches gave him the Heart and Soul Award. They made it up just for him. His team had never been to the playoffs before. They were always so bad that other schools would schedule them for the homecoming game. But the first season after Tripp went to prison, John led them to the state championship. It was held in the Georgia Dome, and they played a big school from Atlanta. They were huge underdogs. My daughters Alexis and Julia were cheerleaders, so they were cheering him on from the field. The rest of us were in the stands. And with five minutes left on the clock, John ran 37 yards and scored a touchdown to seal the game. All of us were going wild. Afterwards a television crew interviewed John on the 50-yard line. They handed him the trophy, and said: ‘How do you feel? ‘He said: ‘I’m just so thankful. To God, my team, and my family. Especially my mom.’” -- source link