It’s Time…Time to Pay it Forward and Give Back

If you’ve read my memoir or caught any of my recent interviews or webcast appearances, in which I’ve been asked about my career journey, you probably know that I haven’t been shy about my early career goal to achieve financial independence…and then some! But hopefully you also heard that I am intently focused on paying it forward.

While I’m still motivated to make money, after all, I do run a business, it is getting edged out more and more by my motivation to be a mentor, to be a giver of knowledge and wisdom, to pay it forward and give back. Don’t get me wrong, giving back is not entirely new to me. For a long time, I have given back to my community, financially, but now I find it so much more rewarding to give my time and effort.

I’m sharing this now…because over the weekend, I found myself smiling from ear to ear while looking at pictures of our team participating in various volunteer activities at Archbishop Lyke School, Saint Martin de Porres High School, and Habitat for Humanity. It made me so happy to see them putting in the time and effort to educate high school students, clean and rehab the elementary school, and build a house for a single mom and her son. I also knew, from my own experience, how good they felt at the end of the day.

I’m sharing this now…to challenge you to think about how you can use your time, skills, experience, or knowledge to give back, beyond financial and material goods donations. For me, I’ve found it gratifying to use my time to lead free financial literacy seminars for adults who are unfamiliar with even the most simple financial savings and investing tools they should be utilizing. I’ve also found joy in mentoring students participating in finance clubs at local high schools and my alma mater, George Mason, who are eager to learn more about the industry and get on a path to success.

And I’m sharing this now…to encourage companies, whether big or small, to make giving back part of their corporate culture. I commend our parent company, Walker & Dunlop, on the way they encourage all employees to volunteer by including it as a component of annual reviews and even providing paid time off for volunteering.

I wish I had jumped on this train a long time ago but at least I’m on it now and there’s no looking back. If you’re not already on board, I hope this inspires you to consider it!