I grew up on a family farm in South Georgia, learning that hard work and long hours were not optional but essential to success and maintaining the things we work so hard for in this life. My drive for success was cultivated through competitive sports and later in retail management. I realized that inside sales were something I was good at, but did not enjoy, so after about a year, I went back to my first love, agriculture. 

Through a friend, I got a job working for a local Agriculture Lab that specialized in soil sampling and row crop consulting. As I worked my way up through this small company over about 3 years, I was placed in charge of my own crop consulting territory which I helped grow to about 30,000 acres of tillable farmland. I worked hard to succeed here for little money, working 7 days and as many as 100 hours a week during the summer months. 

While I still enjoyed the challenge of the work and being in the fields, I knew this was not the best I could do for myself. After much thought and prayer, it was time to move on to the next chapter, not knowing what that might be.

When I left the Ag Consulting company I dreamed of being an entrepreneur, a leader of professionals who would be known as experts in their given industry, regardless of what that meant for them. I desired to build teams of people and systems that worked together as a unit and excelled in their field. That being said, I had a newfound understanding of the importance of efficiency and the leverage of time. I was going to have a little girl, and there was no way working all the time would be sustainable for me long term. I needed more time with God and my new family, and a clearer understanding who I was supposed to be.

Externally, I struggled with having no direction for my life. I never anticipated leaving that job and had no plan for the future. I was living in my previous employer’s rental home with no transportation except my previous employer’s company vehicle. I was a soon-to-be dad with no family nearby and limited savings. As I evaluated my current position, it became clear that after all the hard hours working and striving to make a name for myself, I had nothing left to give to myself or anyone else for that matter. 

As I learned to cope with this idea of having nothing to offer myself and others, I slowly leaned into becoming my best self. I wanted to be someone that made an impact on others. I read all the top-rated books about success, watched videos on sociology, did goal-setting workbooks, wrote in journals, etc. 

The more I leaned into the advice of others, the more I was redirected to scripture and the Bible. The more scripture I read, the more I understood that this was more about becoming my best self as God intended and less about creating my own version of myself based on superficial accolades. Through this, I began to understand purpose for life, purpose for family, and purpose for success as defined by God.

I realized that everything I thought I was doing right, I had done wrong. I looked up from the grindstone and had unknowingly distanced myself from the most important things to me, with nothing of value to show for it. At this point, I knew that love and respect from those I cared about could not be earned through how many hours I worked or how fast I could climb the company ladder. 

As I spent time learning to trust God’s plan for my life, opportunities began to present themselves. I got a phone call one day from a grower that happened to be located close to my now wife and her family, and by the end of our short call, I had my first consulting client and my first business as an entrepreneur. This opportunity was heaven-sent, it allowed me to work 1 day each week for the same amount of money I earned working 7 days a week at my prior job, with 6 more days left in the week to focus on the more important things, God, Family, and Self Investment. 

Soon after that, I saw a social media post from Clint Flowers showcasing some land. I reached out to Clint, interested in what seemed to be the dream job for a South GA boy. I asked him what he did for a living and he explained that he led a team of agents with National Land Realty, experts in their industry. 

From there Logan Eaton Interviewed me and introduced me to the processes and systems provided by National Land. I was mind blown, at 27 years old I genuinely had no idea that land brokerages existed. This was yet another opportunity to start my own company, work in sales, enjoy the outdoors, and eventually lead a team of experts in their field, all to serve people in my community, and cultivate relationships with those close to me. I could not have orchestrated this on my own, and there was no doubt that working with NLR was the next move.

Through growing relationships, I have had the opportunity to shadow and learn from others who are experts in their field. It is an ongoing process to stay focused on the important things in life. Each day I work to realign myself with my goals and avoid getting caught in the weeds with the things not relevant to my success.

The biggest challenges I’ve encountered in my business are:

1.) Learning the industry and educating myself in the areas that are not my natural strengths  

2.) How to effectively communicate with high net-worth individuals, many of whom are much older than me. 

3.) How to maintain focus on my own version of success (A growing relationship with God, family, myself, and those close to me) not based upon industry accolades or financial gain.

By narrowing my focus on building relationships and making a positive impact on the people that I work with, I have been able to effectively serve others through my work. NLR and our awesome team make this easy for me, and they are true servant leaders themselves. As a result, I get to focus on serving others without growing overwhelmed with the details of all that comes with the back end of running a real estate brokerage. 

Our team takes the load off agents by providing nearly 24/7 support for any questions, all marketing and advertisements at no additional cost, equipping agents through free trainings, and building a company-wide culture of teamwork that ensures each agent can achieve their own goals. 

With an extensive team of experts surrounding me, I have been able to define my success and experience growing relationships, fulfillment in my work, a flexible schedule, and financial blessings beyond anything a South GA boy without a college degree would have ever imagined.

Moving forward, I plan to continue seeking God’s plan and purpose for my life while stewarding the opportunities he has provided for me to the best of my ability. This means educating and training myself in my new vocation of Consulting and Sales to become among the best in the industries I work in. All of that being said, keeping first things first is an ongoing process and forever a challenge, but I know firsthand that when life is done this way everything else falls into place as it should.  

I am now fulfilled in my work, steadfast in who I am and what I believe, a better person for those around me, and financially blessed. I look forward to growing with NLR as we reach new heights as an organization.

My legacy has been set in motion because of the relationships that I now have the opportunity to cultivate through my work and at home. I will no longer have to look back on my efforts as time wasted due to the servant leadership of the team at NLR. 

The “nose to the grindstone mentality” will wear you down until there’s nothing left, so get a brokerage that allows you to become your very best in the most important areas of your life.

Start your legacy, join NLR.