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– The professional advice that I would give to somebody who’s starting their career would be to choose a profession that you’re passionate about. Follow your own vision, and do not let anybody convince you to change your path. Follow what’s in your heart and believe in your own abilities.
– The advice I would give to someone is to network, network, network. Don’t just network in your field or in your organization. Network outside of your field and with other companies.
– I think it’s important to always be a learner and set goals. Find a mentor until you can afford a coach because I feel like accountability to the system is extremely important.
– Accountability. Be accountable to yourself, accountable to your staff, and certainly to your teammates. Accountability breeds respect and a stellar reputation.
– As a woman in this industry for over 25 years, you just have to work harder than everyone else. You have to really be tougher. You have to be calm and patient, and really strive, and set your goals and follow them, and don’t let anyone get in your way.
– Hire a coach, develop a plan, and leverage technology. Coaching has helped propel me to the next level at different stages in my career and is a key to my success.
– So the best female professional influence in my life was my grandma. She immigrated to the US from China at a really young age. She literally had to raise four kids on her own as a single mom. Didn’t know English, was running a store in Arizona, so she had to learn Spanish, and juggle the balance of being a mom, running a business, and ensuring that her family could have the best opportunity to be successful.
– My mom took a huge career leap in the early 80s. She moved from a very female dominated world, being a telephone operator to become the first female firefighter for the U.S. Marine Corps. She faced a lot of adversity from her teammates, from the community that we lived in, but she embraced that and she really used it for her energy to kind of propel herself forward. And I’m so excited to tell you that she retired as the first female fire chief.
– Actually, I have two women that I admire. One of them would be Michelle Obama. Oprah Winfrey would be the second person. Look at the struggles, look where they started. Look where they’re at now, they kept going. No matter what anyone told them, they continued to go. And look where they are now. They have came a long way. They’ve done a lot and they don’t mind giving back.
– That would definitely be my mother. She was an operations manager in this industry for many years, and I’ve never met a harder worker.
– Best professional influence in my life as a woman would have to be me growing up watching my mom, who I’ve witnessed, manage a very successful interior design and wedding business, as well as now a national cooking show. So just watching how she is able to navigate all of the hurdles of managing her schedule, her affairs, being organized and really prioritizing business and family has taught me so much.
– So I would say, be sure to balance everything in your life. Work is not everything. It’s so important to keep up with your friends, and your family, and your hobbies, and the community involvement. It really does make for a much more well-rounded woman, both personally and professionally.
– The best advice I would give to my younger self is be patient. Set realistic goals for yourself and understand that if that goal doesn’t happen when you want it to, that it might be just around the corner and never give up.
– The advice that I would give to my younger self is that if you work really hard and you put your best foot forward every day, it will all work out. It could be really daunting starting a new career, and I understand what that feels like, but put your best foot forward, believe in yourself, and you will make it big.
– I would tell my younger self to focus on developing really, really deep relationships, going deep with a smaller group of people, making them a part of your life is far more vital than trying to spread yourself too thin.
– Learn for the job that you want. Act like you’re already doing the job that you want. Take on those responsibilities of the job that you want to have. And then the people around you will see you doing that and you will get there.
– I would tell my younger self not to take no for an answer. I came into this business at a time when chauvinism was a thing and it was really happening. So I’m grateful that today my daughter and her contemporaries don’t have to worry about those types of things, and I’m grateful to work for a company as culturally inclusive, where I can feel free to be me. I am a mortgage geek. I love it. I love it. I love it. I love it. And every time I see an appraisal, I get all giddy like it’s Christmas day. I love this business. I love what I love what I do. And I love doing it in NFM.