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Friend, Hope this email finds you well. Something compelled me to share a recent personal experience I had out of the country. Too often it's always business and I remain very cognizant and strategic about the images and news I share via social media, particularly. Thinking about that and how we at GardnerGlobal, Inc. / Onpoint Real Estate are relationship based, I figured I would share a little bit of an international experience I just had. For one, this trip was iconic and marked a significant year of growth and personal ability. I flew my grandparents to Mexico City, spoke at an event for the Democrats Abroad Mexico City, re-connected with business opportunities, bussed to Jilotepec, hit La Paz, bussed down to Cabo and flew to Cuba (where I almost got stuck). My grandparents didn't stick around after Mexico city, they went back to L.A. and I spent some much needed "me" time to get re-centered. (See below for a snippet of my trip). It couldn't have been a couple days later, I was MC'ing the Liberty Bank Ground breaking ceremony, a 115-unit affordable housing building we have the privilege to work on. Then I turn around and I'm 1 of 6 guest speakers at the Sheraton hotel for the Puget Sound Business Journal's Seattle Commercial Real Estate Expo. After hitting 2 countries, 7 cities and four planes, it was quite the introduction back home.
If you didn't know, I'm bi-racial. I'm Black and Mexican (and yes, I speak fluent Spanish) - I grew up in south Los Angeles, otherwise known as the concrete jungle and was raised by my Mexican grandparents. They raised my sister and I off of a fixed income, social security and a small pension. To say the least, my beginnings were humble. It was night after night of hamburger helper. LOL! Oh God, please no more hamburger helper!!
Like you, I have dreams, maybe several and one of them was to be able to treat my grandparents to a trip to Mexico, their mother country, a place they've never been before. More important than that I wanted to repay them for all their work and sacrifice for raising my sister and I. As first generation Mexican-Americans (Chicanos) born in the U.S., they settled in Compton and South Gate, California and never looked back. Both of my grandparents are eighty (80) years old and have never left the U.S. This summer was an opportunity to change that.
I got them their passports, convinced them (somehow) that a trip to Mexico City was a good idea. They went for it and off we went! The first picture you see in this email is a picture of me with them on a canal tour in Xochimilco, Mexico. We danced in the woods, toured the many neighborhoods of Mexico City eating like crazy, visited 15th century churches, laughed at the clown street comedians, and met new extended family. It was a true blessing to be able to give more than material objects to them, an experience that will last forever - Time we spent that we can't get back nor recreate - this concept of time had me deep in thought.
It had me thinking about all of the challenging moments I've had as a real estate developer and business owner. All of the deals that were taken from us, the sidelines we had to sit on, the pressure to compete in a high resource industry with little to minimal resources. The grit and grind of working hard to ensure my employees are paid, office rent is paid, and the continual pursuit of growth and capacity building with the resources that my team had created (no hand-outs). It had me thinking about who the city of Seattle choose (at convenience) to support, regardless of expertise or specialty. It made me think about the true strength and expertise of the Onpoint Real Estate team. It made me think about those who smile in my face but would rather see us obsolete. It made me think about how I operate off of strength and not fear.
It reaffirmed the unwavering and unstoppable drive to continue the work of real estate development and building wealth. It reminded me of how we perpetually get stuck in thinking locally and not globally. Realizing as an owner I can take personal time away and leave the business in the hands of true real estate experts and budding real estate experts, I was humbled by both my grandparents and the Onpoint Real Estate team, the Brokers, property managers and project managers who held it down while I was away. Thank you!
The sacrifice my grandparents made created an inner drive that's unbeatable on any scale. Unbeatable because the value of time isn't monetary. It's the time that the HUSTLE creates that allows me to fully embrace and enjoy my loved ones and there's nothing in this universe that will prevent that from happening. There's a high level of appreciation that comes with climbing out of an urban setting with scant resources -not losing sight of what's really important: family, loved ones and giving back to those who gave me the opportunity to succeed.
With that said, hope you enjoy the pics. You'll go from Cabo San Lucas to La Paz, to Havana, Cuba, to the groundbreaking to the Sheraton hotel in Seattle. If you want to connect over coffee later about any these experiences, let me know!
Re-centered and re-focused,
Jaebadiah S. Gardner CEO, GardnerGlobal, Inc. |
