Hello world!

Welcome to my blog!

This is my first entry, and I am looking forward to many more. I have a feeling that an outlet like this will prove to be quite addicting!

For the past few days now, I have been contemplating what my first entry should be about, and I think that maybe some sort of point of reference is the best idea – a free form bio of some sort.

Here goes:

I am 26 years old (27 in a few weeks), I am an Ottawa native and I am proud of it. I am currently in my fourth year at the University of Ottawa pursuing my Honours Degree in Management, and I am a full time employee at the House of Commons where I work in Pay and Benefits. The heart however, lies with Real Estate. Approximately two years ago I entered an entrepreneurial competition at University, which is out of character for me because I have never been extremely competitive with others (only with myself – I have never strived to ‘beat’ anyone for recreational purposes), and I have never entered competitions like this before. There was something about this competition that was different though – it was launched by an extremely successful Real Estate businessman, and it offered a top prize of $7,500.00, a nice purse to put towards a Real Estate project. So I applied, and was chosen in the top 10 out of hundreds of applicants. I went through a series of workshops and met some other entrepreneurs, most notably Renaud Breault and Dr. Bruce Firestone. I was paired with Renaud, and he really helped me narrow my focus and keep me grounded while I was trying to take on the world. I would soon learn that Dr. Firestone would make an excellent complement as a mentor, with his confidence fuelled approach to a world of endless opportunity. We met a few times to discuss my ambitions, and he would selflessly provide me with ideas, contacts and resources. Then I was fortunate enough to get a seat in one of his classes at the University of Ottawa in his Seminar in Business Administration class, where he taught us many of the principles of success as he saw it, and encouraged us all to get out of our seats and apply this knowledge into our business ambitions. After keeping tabs on him for another few months while trying to put together some projects, he ‘dropped the bomb on me’ – Get my REALTOR’s license, and take my ambitions and education to work for him. As soon as I left the room I got started!

I now find myself not only a full-time student and a full-time employee, but I am now on the most aggressive REALTOR’s licensing schedule possible, and I volunteer with Dr.Firestone every Monday this summer (not to mention my ongoing Real Estate projects in motion). The only unfortunate thing about all of this work is that there are not enough hours in the day to do them all, and my only fear is not doing them all justice.

I find that my philosophies on life have changed since I have embarked on this intense journey. For one – anything worth having is worth working hard for. If you really want something and you want to claim it as your own – you need to earn it more than anyone else. Second – dont fear failure, because until you fail at something, you will never know what your potential is. How would one ever realize the true top speed of a car if they never took it to the redline?  How would a powerlifter ever know how much they could lift if they never attempted to lift and could simply not complete a repetition? Both of these examples involve failure, but the lessons learned make all the difference. The lessons learned set new benchmarks, and set the stage to explore new potentials. That being said – you will never know if you dont try. Some people tell me I am taking on way too much work, and that I will burnout. To them I say ” and what if don’t? What if I never tried to push my own limits – wouldn’t I be selling myself short? That is what I am afraid of – not the failure”.

Now dont get me wrong, this is only a short term strategy. I graduate in 9 months, at which point I will be able to focus my energy on my work and ambitions and really make interesting work for myself. When I think about how much effort I will be able to devote to my work at that point I get goosebumps. I am really looking forward to making a big difference out there!

Quickly before I leave, perhaps I should speak about my motivation. Its really quite simple – I work so that I will one day have a strong and healthy family. I blieve that my purpose in this life is to provide for and take care of those I love. My instincts have always been that of a provider. I have always been territorial and protective of those I care about – qualities that I believe attract me to Real Estate. I believe that people should have rights to their own land, be able to participate in economic endeavours, and be safe in doing so. Another reason why I am proud to be Canadian.

That concludes my first blog entry. Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you have a better understanding of where I feel I stand in this world and what I hope to achieve. I hope that my effort will one day allow me to reach a significant amount of people and be able to help others where I can.

All the best,

Marc Evans