On Tuesday, Feb.24th, I was in Orlando at the Keller-Williams Family Reunion. I was invited as a guest of Gary Keller to be interviewed by him in front of 3000 or so of his “mega agents.”

When I was first invited, I did not know why - or how - I was asked to be included in this event. But it did not take long for me to learn the answer to both.

First of all, even as a realty company, this is truly a Family event- and a Family Reunion for the company. It is clear that these Realtors view their company like family. And as you know, that is one of the foundations of my story: family who is there for you during your times of need. Right now, the housing industry is in a time of need - and I know the members of the Keller-William family are glad they have their sense of community in their workplace. In that sense, I was the perfect fit to speak at their convention: someone who could talk about difficult times, who could provide hope, and who could reassure that the lessons learned during these hard times will be valuable in the future.

Over the past few months I have been corresponding with a family whose son was in an automobile accident this past September. He is paralysed and struggling with many of the physical and emotional issues that I did. Just this week - at the K-W Family Reunion - I learned that it was an acquaintance of this family who shared my story with the company’s founder, Gary Keller. He too saw my story as an inspiring fit for his family company.

I learned many lessons this week. I learned that you never know who you are helping - and you never know the ways in which you can impact a life or make a difference. We have to be careful in all we say and do, because our words and actions are so powerful. I was also reminded that our workplace can be a place of strength and comfort to us. We spend so much time at our jobs, with our jobs, and with our co-workers; how wonderful that there are companies who value this and who instill a sense of family away from home.