While I’ve had opportunities to go to incredible places like Spain, I’ve always felt called back home to my family. My father’s experiences in the aerospace industry had a profound effect on me. Flying jets in the military was my goal for a long time. After achieving that, I began searching for another field that would drive me.

I didn’t understand the odd look my friend gave me as I introduced myself to an acquaintance of his in Spanish. We all exchanged pleasantries before continuing our way. But I knew there was something on my friend’s mind.

I was in Madrid, Spain, as part of a student exchange program. My major was Spanish, and it seemed like the perfect opportunity to test how effective my studies had been. I thought it was going quite well. I even learned the Spanish equivalent for my name. My full first name is William, but I’ve always gone by Bill. In Spanish, William is Guillermo. I grew up in Southern California, where there are quite a few Spanish speakers. I learned that the shortened form of Guillermo is Memo. I had been introducing myself that way for the five months I’d been in Spain.

“Why do you call yourself Memo?” my friend asked. He was a native Spanish speaker.

“I want to go by the shortened version of Guillermo,” I explained.

“That may be the nickname in Latin America, but that's not what it means here.”

I turned to him with a creeping sense of dread. “What does it mean?”

“Stupid.”

Aside from my embarrassment surrounding my moniker, I loved Madrid. To step outside of my own world and become so immersed in a different culture was a dream come true. I thought about staying longer, but I had other dreams I wanted to follow. And I was missing my family. A lot of decision making in my life has been about family.

My dad worked in the aerospace industry, and I was fascinated by jets from a young age. As a kid, I wanted to be a fighter pilot. Then Top Gun came out, and every other kid my age wanted to be a fighter pilot too! So instead, I tried my hand at a number of odd jobs. Many were interesting but not particularly fulfilling. I felt that I had missed my chance to work with jets.

One night, to take my mind off things, I went to see a movie—City Slickers. There was an exchange between the two leads about how you have to find the “one thing” in your life that drives you and not waste your time on anything else. The next day, I quit my job and enlisted in the military.

I started out as a mechanic for fighter jets. I worked alongside the pilots, networking and meeting incredible and accomplished people. When I had the opportunity to pilot the jets myself, I understood them on a fundamental mechanical level. I knew how they worked, and I was a better pilot because of that.

When my time in the military drew to an end, after accomplishing my goal, I began working sales jobs. I was searching for my new “thing” ala City Slickers. I started working alongside a land developer, who suggested I get my real estate license to better understand the business. I took his advice and found what I learned to be fascinating. I was so interested that I didn’t stop there. I got my broker’s license too!

I didn’t see myself as being an entrepreneur by nature, but I saw this as a true craft that I was knowledgeable about. Even though sales led me to real estate, I didn’t see real estate as a sales job (and still don’t). The decisions being made in this industry are far more personal than that. And hugely important. My job isn’t to push people into making poor decisions. It’s to impart them with the knowledge and information they need to make the BEST decision. In the same way that being a mechanic made me a better pilot, having the knowledge and background I have in real estate makes me a better agent and broker. I’m looking forward to having the opportunity to join you on your journey home.

Family has continued to impact me, even now. As a child, my parents would take annual holiday trips to Long Beach. We had a vacation rental, and it was the place I acquired my love of the water. Many of my fondest memories were from my time there.

Now that I have two sons of my own, I wanted them to experience the same joy I had. I loved Long Beach so much that I made it my home. To me, it represents family. Now it’s a place where I can coach my kids’ baseball teams. It’s gratifying to work with children, see them improve, and know their parents trust me to care for them.

I believe all of my clients deserve that same peace and happiness. My favorite part of my role as agent is putting the deal together, getting the client what they want. There aren’t many problems that I come up against that I’m not ready to tackle. At the end of the day, if it brings a client home, it’s well worth the trouble. I can hardly wait to do that for you!

Sincerely,

Bill Hayward
Broker-Associate