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I grew up in Rice Lake Wisconsin.  It is a small town of under 10,000 people located in the north western part of the state.  It is true that in a small town everyone knows everyone and everyone knows everyone’s business.  I kind of like that.  It taught me to be accountable for my actions, that a handshake and my word mean something, and that you don’t earn trust, you prove it over and over again every day, whether someone is watching you or not.   

My dad was a high school principal (fortunately for me in the next town over!).  Discipline and order were a big deal.  We knew every teacher in the school intimately.  I would hunt and fish with them; they would come over and share breakfast at our home before school on occasion.  To this day I still conduct myself based on the values that I learned from that small town.

It snows up there—a lot.  From early on I decided that I needed to live my life in a way that if anyone saw me in the ditch on the side of the icy road, which happened to all of us at one time or another, they would say, “Hey, that’s Todd.” And stop to help, instead of say “Hey, that’s Todd.” And drive past. 

Now I have two little girls of my own and I do not live in a small town obviously, but am doing my best to instill those values that I have on to them.  It is easier to hide in a big town; there are a lot more strangers.  I would hate for them to grow up and not take ownership for something they should just because they could get away with it because no one noticed.  The best way to insure that they do right is by showing them what it looks like—by doing right myself.  I think professional etiquette is not doing the right thing because someone is watching, but doing the right thing when no one is.

I have worked very hard to present myself as a person of authority in the mortgage business over the years.  I have studied.  I have learned.  I even wrote a book on the topic and have spoken publicly to a group of nearly 2500 mortgage professionals on ways mortgage professionals can convey knowledge to their clientele.  My hope was that if I could become the smartest lender out there, then you would choose me as yours.  And if I could prove to you that I was the smartest lender out there by showing you all I knew, that you would choose me as yours.

But then one day it dawned on me.  You don’t really care about all that.  You care more about who I am than what I am.  If you have been to this site before you have noticed this piece is different from the old one.  I still am committed to understanding your financial position and doing all I can to help you make the best decision possible.  I want very badly to exceed your expectations and instill confidence in you that you have made the right decision in choosing me.  And once I have helped you, and proved myself, I really, really want you to tell others about me so I can help them also, because after all, that is how I make a living and provide for my family.  But most of all, I just want to know who you are, and for you to know me.  If I know you I can help you.  Zig Ziglar was right when he said; “You can have everything in life you want if you'll only help enough other people get what they want." I get it now Zig, I can’t believe it took me this long.