I tell the story to recruits, customers and referral partners of my first interactions with Casey Crawford, Toby Harris and Deran Pennington (owners and Sr. Executive, respectively) as part of explaining why I chose to come to Movement Mortgage…. and I’ve told that story a LOT in the last few months.

I have been traveling a lot lately too; if not by plane, then I’m in my car…and almost always on the phone –even when I’m home, just to make a futile attempt at “catching-up”.  These last eight months since we really started a fully licensed and concerted effort to build New England have been exciting, but challenging personally.  I have two small girls (Ellie and Catherine) and there are too many days and nights that go by that I don’t see them.  A lot of sacrifices need to be made when you’re building.

 On top of the personal stressors, I have found myself reciting the same stories to people about Casey, Toby and Deran b/c I know they are impactful and I want everyone to share in the emotion that I first felt when I joined.  Recruits and Realtors are usually moved by my stories to one extent or another and it seems worth it to have recited the story yet again.  What I have found though, is that I need to remind myself to always really feel my own story.  When you say something over and over it does 2 things simultaneously: it makes it less impactful for you in the moment b/c you get bored with the same story, but it also can make it more a part of you.  As with a romantic relationship, when the initial infatuation dies down, excitement is (hopefully) replaced by contentment; lust is (hopefully) replaced by love.  And I realized that I am no longer excited by about my stories…but I love them for the experience they might  give someone else.

As such, I want us all to remember a few things…

I want everyone that joins us or works with us, to remember your story in coming here or doing business with us -How excited you were by how different Movement Mortgage was; the hope of having a better/easier process, the promise of a new perspective, the excitement of how our referral partners and customers would benefit, and the hope of having some amount of fun in the process! 

My story is overwhelmingly positive and inspirational; yet, I am working and traveling way too much.  I will likely regret the karate class(es) and bedtimes I’ve missed, and I need to work harder on coordinating around my family so I can be there for them too.  But we are building a new market; we are building a business that has people excited to take part…and it’s almost impossible to balance.  But we knew this wasn’t going to be easy.  We knew it would take long hours, training, learning new people, learning new processes, re-branding, re-introducing, suggesting, and adapting.  It was overwhelming sometimes.  The pursuit of greatness will never be easy (the paraphrasing of an old quote)….and while I agree, I would add that it can be fun and we should enjoy the ride.  We are growing to a size now that the newer people joining or working with us will see a completely streamlined effort and well-oiled machine, but they won’t know the story of how we got here. 

To my current and future employees: I would ask you to remember your story.  Remember what you felt when you decided to come here, and remember that every time you share your story in your respective markets, someone else will have great things to say about Movement.  YOUR story can help us continue to grow an industry-leading reputation.  Your story will encourage someone else to join our adventure.  Your story will help you remember what we were trying to build when the hours got too long, or why you missed another karate practice.  As we grew and learned the players and became experts in the processes, things have continued to get better and better.  We will continue to get control of our time, and our lives will be of better quality than most of us have ever had in this business.  Other companies can’t promise giving you time back as their ultimate pursuit b/c they never even cared to ask if we needed that.  That is why I came here.  In every decision we make as a company, we care… about your time, about your community, and about your quality of life.  While we all continue to work hard to build this presence and take over counties across New England, we can know our hard work has been worth it b/c we have built something better.  So remember your story and tell it again and again; it will always be new and impactful to someone, and in the longest hours of the day, it will remind you why you came…

Be purposeful, be accountable, be disciplined; create your own contentment. 

 Ian Aubourg the Regional Director for Movement Mortgage