After devoting my entire life to swimming and achieving my ultimate goal, I found myself needing a new direction. I knew what was most important to me—helping people. It turns out that I was training for my dream job all along…
My school counselor’s face fell. “You got into Harvard?”
“Yes,” I responded.
“And they offered you a full ride?”
“Yes,” I said again.
“And you’re turning it down?” he asked in disbelief.
“It doesn’t align with my goal.”
I felt a little bad. I knew it helped the counselors out when their students went to Ivy League schools. But I had a vision for my college years, and Harvard wouldn’t fulfill it. I instead decided to attend the University of Texas.
When I was eight years old my mother came to me with a proposition. In my recollection, our conversation happened in the middle of the night, adding an air of mysticism and destiny. In reality, it probably was only around 8:00 p.m. In her childhood, my mother was an avid swimmer, and she asked if I was interested in joining a swim team.
That was how it started, but my passion for swimming didn’t have anything to do with my mother. It was a personal passion. Continuing to swim competitively was a conscious choice. Every other decision in my life was with the focus of achieving my goal: winning an NCAA Championship.
Most people don’t think of swimming as a team sport, but we were definitely a team. I never saw myself as someone in a leadership position, but that's how my teammates saw me. I always wanted to be the best I could be and I wanted that for my teammates too. Not only would competitions go well, but we all walked away knowing we had performed our absolute best and that was a wonderful feeling all on its own. It was unusual for a Junior to be voted team captain, but my passion for shared success led us to victory.
We went on to win an NCAA Championship! And then, for good measure, we won it two more times. I was proud of doing exactly what I set out to do, but then I graduated and had to turn toward the future.
From the time I was eight years old until I graduated from college, swimming was my life. Every choice, every decision, every moment had been devoted to it. But there isn’t such a thing as a professional swimming career. I realized I was going to need to turn my attention to something else. What were the other things that mattered to me? Being a part of a team mattered. Bringing others success mattered.
I dug deep. Really deep. I thought back to my childhood. I didn’t grow up with much. I was one of five kids, and I watched my parents make sacrifice after sacrifice for their children. But I came 
to realize my parents had one thing in their favor: homeownership. There was financial power in that. How incredible would it be to bring that to others?!
Like with swimming, I made a conscious decision to step into the world of real estate. Also as with swimming, I dedicated my life to it, this time helping others buy and sell their homes. The first time I handed the keys over to the new owner, I knew I’d made the right decision. It has been just as wonderful every time since.
Again, I found myself being urged into leadership roles. I passionately train and educate new agents who feel as strongly about helping others and building relationships as I do.
I remember the feeling I had when I bought my own home—a sense of freedom, wellbeing, and a bright future. I want to share that feeling with everyone. I’d love to share it with you!
I’ve heard people in the real estate industry described as being in servant leadership. It’s a phrase that’s stuck with me because I find it very accurate. I can lead, but my role is to serve. It’s not about putting a client’s needs first. It’s about focusing only on their needs. I’ve heard other agents tell their clients that they’re like a crew with that agent as the ship’s captain. I don’t see it that way. I believe the client should be the captain. I’m just there to help them steer.
Service doesn’t just start and end with my clients, I help anyone in the industry, in any way I can. The same is true of every call I get: I will always answer my phone. I hope I have the opportunity to offer that same care and service to you.
Sincerely,
Jim Pullin
Managing Broker
