At NLR, We strive to be the best version of ourselves.

Being the best version of yourself is not an easy task. It’s something most of us have to work consistently at. But for Jason Burbage, someone who’s had to overcome obstacles his entire life, being the best version of himself is something that simply comes naturally.

“I guess you could say that the mission I have in my life is based on my experience. Being born without fingers I just have a great desire to give back as much to people as I can – to help people deal with adversity and challenges because I had to in my life in more of an extreme way,” Jason said. “Just being able to serve as an inspiration to others and let them know they’re not alone. I live my life with a mindset based on discipline, willpower and humility. A mindset towards dominating life. That’s the core of who I am. I feel like my purpose is to help people realize that they can dominate life too… And I’m motivated to achieve success in order to give back, whether it be financially or personally, with time or whatever it may be in that aspect.”

You can certainly say Jason wears many hats – as National Land Realty’s Executive Vice President, Land Broker and Manager, as a mentor, coach, husband, father and friend. He’s a South Carolina native who grew up in coastal Beaufort County on his family’s farm and gives all of the time he can to help others. He’s involved in several organizations that not only help him better himself but also allow him to help others better themselves. One of them being F3, a national network of free, peer-led workouts for men.

“With F3, you’re doing something that most people won’t do. It starts with a major accomplishment, getting up at 4:45 am and completing a challenging workout with 10-15 other men, Jason said.” What F3 has done for me is reinforce my confidence in my ability to accomplish whatever I set out to do. No matter what new obstacles arise, I’m already regularly accomplishing something challenging and I’m doing it with people who share in the same spirit. More importantly, F3 instills a strong desire to impact the lives of other men, a servant attitude. F3 stands for: Fitness, Fellowship and Faith. Fitness is the magnet that draws people in and the Fellowship is the glue that keeps them coming back. Faith is the dynamite. Here, faith doesn’t refer to any particular religion or worldview, but simply a belief in something outside of oneself. When the men I serve and impact in turn cross the transition point and become servants themselves, the effect is dynamic. Our mantra, our credo is, ‘leave no man behind, but leave no man where you find him.’ So, when someone new comes in, no matter what fitness level he is in, there’s always someone who will help. It’s the reason we are here. We all need that push and to have someone say, ‘Keep going, I am with you.’”

Jason set a personal goal each quarter to be able to do 20 one-armed pushups. He gave himself 3 months to train and accomplish it.

Jason is a true inspiration to all those around him. And when it comes to his teammates at NLR, he strives to be the best version of himself to be that “push” that keeps them going. When we asked him what advice he would give a fellow land agent or broker if he could only give them one piece, he said:

“Do the little things that most people won’t do. Make the extra hour of phone calls, take pride in your appearance, go a little farther to get the best photo, and above all, be humble. Own your life. While others make excuses, you acknowledge where you need improvement and fix it. What I always ask myself and remind my team if they’re faced with a problem… how would you want to be treated if you were in this situation?”

“Staying humble is acknowledging at the end of the day that you are responsible for everything that happens in your life. And not only acknowledging it but taking steps so that it doesn’t happen again. I realize there are things that we may not appear to have control over. For example, if you get t-boned in an intersection by someone who ran a red light, you might say it’s their fault. But taking responsibility can be something as small as taking a few seconds to make sure no one is about to run a red light when your light turns green. It’s about awareness, being aware of what’s going on around you at all times.”

“Ultimately, the best version of oneself is to live Third: God is first, Our Team (Family and Teammates) is second and I am Third.”