by: Stephanie Gonzalez, CEO & Managing Partner Almost 250 years ago, this month, our nation declared its independence and was officially established. Many events precede and follow July 4, 1776. There are various important nuances and details related to this historical event (the majority of which will not be spotlighted here). Each month we choose a new fresh theme for our monthly Brokerage Meeting; this theme is woven throughout all topics presented and helps give a focused energy to those in attendance. It feels kismet that in preparing for our July Monthly Brokerage Meeting – the concept of independence being our theme – I noticed a few parallel principles related to the historic 4th of July event many moons ago. I was the lucky one to speak first and kick off the meeting. I chose to dig one layer deeper and not only talk about independence, but the specific word I chose to spotlight was "declaration." Using the words, concepts, and sentiments behind the words independence and declaration…I could not help but notice a few parallel themes, between the foundation of our nation and the foundation of our North&Co. community. In June, we announced our new, and next, three-year company vision. Since founding the brokerage with Brian North nine years ago, we have always committed ourselves to creating a document that holds the future vision for the company. This written document describes in detail who we will be, the types of clients we will attract and serve, and what we will be best known for…three years in the future. This document becomes our roadmap not just for the leadership and support team, but for our entire North&Co. Community. The roadmap acts as our guide to the destination and outcome we will relentlessly pursue. This company vision establishes purpose, creates alignment, sets a direction, and provides the clarity our team needs when developing a game plan to achieve it. Does any of the above sound familiar, considering what happened on July 4, 1776, and the documents that were born from it? A group of like-minded people came together seeking a new order, they met and collectively decided what they did not want, as well as what they did want, and wrote it on a piece of paper… "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." 56 people all signed this document (the Declaration of Independence) to illustrate their commitment to pursuing its end. We are so blessed to be in the real estate industry. Every day we get to be independent contractors, entrepreneurs, and business owners who can choose how to design our business and life. Every day we get to declare what we want (and don't want). We have an opportunity to declare and describe in colorful detail what our own independence looks like. Not everyone has this opportunity in their work environment. Having a general idea of what we want our future to look like is great – but it is not enough. We need to take time to truly sit with ourselves and ask, "What future am I creating?" Every decision we make, every step we take, will lead to some “end.” We need to identify if that end is directed, misdirected, by happenstance, or worse, not directed at all. We ask this of all North&Co. Agents: to create a document that houses their future vision for their life or business. In the past couple of weeks, I have personally had three of our agents joyfully tell me about some piece of their vision that they have fulfilled. It is inspiring to watch our community take risks, to have the courage to dream, and then to witness them achieve it.