“If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.” – Isaac Newton
The real estate community in Tulare County lost one of it’s giants in Steve McFadden this week. Most of us who work in real estate let it be more than just a job. The quality of our connections with co-workers, service providers, and even competitors plays a huge part in making our lives more enjoyable and rewarding. In the local real estate community I can’t think of anyone who had a bigger positive impact over a longer period of time than Steve.
In the few days since Steve passed a number of people have shared the impact he had on them and just how much he will be missed. I never had the privilege of working with Steve directly but nonetheless I wanted to share one conversation with Steve that has had an impact on me for nearly 10 years now.
I very green with a fresh college degree and a crisp new real estate license and was in search of a company to work for. I had only lived in Visalia for a short while and didn’t know many people outside of family. I was referred to Steve by a family friend who had worked for Steve at Century 21. She was emphatic that I speak with Steve first and that if I wanted to work for someone with integrity I absolutely needed to talk to Steve. I remember her sounding more like someone talking about a trusted friend more than what I expected from someone talking about a previous manager.
When Steve agreed to meet with me I was excited and a little intimidated going on my first interview for a job in real estate. Steve was very welcoming and inviting and quickly made me feel at ease. I don’t remember what joke he told to get me to relax and lighten up but I remember laughing.
The part of that conversation that still sticks with me was his advice about working with people. He said (paraphrasing) “in real estate you have to be able to enjoy working with all types of people.” I didn’t really know what to make of it at the time but it stuck out to me.
Looking back that’s probably some of the best advice I’ve received since getting my real estate license. I’ve had the pleasure of working with clients that have opened my eyes in so many ways. People from different countries, with different languages, some from very humble backgrounds, some with more wealth than I can wrap my head around. And it’s not just clients, Realtors are just as varied our personalities, backgrounds, ways of doing business and the way we live life.
Without Steve’s words I don’t know that I would have learned to embrace and enjoy all of the variety working in real estate offers.
My guess is that there are thousands of other moments where Steve shared a kind or wise word with someone that had a bigger impact than he knew.
I’m grateful to Steve for this one moment, and for his influence in the realtor community I enjoy working in every day.
He will be missed! Rest in Peace, Steve.
- Preston Miller