The title of this column is the message on a little sign that hangs above my desk. It was given to me by my daughter in the early 1980's to give me encouragement when we were experiencing house and financial challenges during the tough times of that recession. While I believe the statement to be true, I appreciate that individuals in the middle of a crisis or difficult situation of the day may have a hard time seeing the optimism intended in the statement. The basics of economic and business principles traditionally recognized in the Free Enterprise System of the American Way as we have known it in the past, supports the proposition to be true.
The business opportunities afforded real estate professionals today present some very interesting challenges. It is a time very strained and stressful to the practitioner striving to deliver high level service while the principals, the clients, are dealing with personal challenges and hardships and various motivations for action and decision making.
Amidst all the turmoil and trauma of the activities and events of doing real estate and the business transactions, expression of thanks and appreciation are appropriate and in order. The clients I have the privilege of representing are good-hearted and filled with integrity; are patient, cooperative and understanding. And I hasten to add, I hope my peers find the same to be true of those whom they represent. Even though these folks have challenges and needs ranging from health issues, to attending to family needs, to addressing economic concerns, I find pleasant satisfaction in my service role as a real estate professional with the good people with whom I associate.
The process and experience of expressing thanks and appreciation are matters very personal and unique. They are in direct relation to the life experiences one has enjoyed or suffered. I am thankful for the blessings given me to be in this great land of freedom and abundance. I am thankful I have had the opportunity to fail and to grow; to deal with adversity and become strong; to excel and realize the thrill of high achievement; to enjoy the peace of happy relationships with family, loved ones and associates.
I am thankful for the great individuals who have given me opportunity and helped me to gain vision and strive for accomplishment through service to others and realizing personal development in the process. Above all, I acknowledge and give thanks to the Lord who has given me all I have and who has made it possible to progress due to His great gift to all mankind. I am a very fortunate man.
In the face of difficult economic times, acknowledging there are many in our land and our society who are suffering severely, it is nevertheless, impressive to reflect upon the pronouncement by this nation's president when the institutionalization of Thanksgiving was formalized with the Proclamation by President Abraham Lincoln setting apart a day of National humiliation, fasting, and prayer in 1863. The following are a few reflective excerpts from that proclamation. The Senate of the United States "devoutly recognizing the Supreme Authority and just Government of Almighty God, in all the affairs of men and of nations..." by resolution requested the President to "designate and set apart a day for National prayer and humiliation."
As we reflect upon our conditions today, we would do well to remember that this country was experiencing serious conditions amidst the terrible Civil War when President Lincoln issued the Proclamation. Yet Lincoln stated "that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord." He additionally said: "We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us!" Is there a message from this utterance several decades ago that we would do well to ponder and adhere to today? I say yes!
St. George REALTOR® Jim Coleman is Associate Broker and Partner/Owner of ERA Brokers Consolidated. He Specializes in Residential, Investment and Commercial Real Estate, holding National Designations of Accredited Buyers Representative (ABR), Certified Residential Specialist (CRS), Resort and Second Home Property Specialist (RSPS), Seniors Real Estate Specialist (SRES), Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS), GREEN Property Specialist, and Certified Short Sale and Foreclosure Resource Specialist (SFR). You can contact him by e-mail at Jim@JimColeman4Homes.com. Call: (435) 627-5411; or write: Jim Coleman, 201 East St. George Boulevard, St. George, Utah 84770. This and other columns are available at www.WinningTalk.com/articles.