FEATURE Judy Profeta Achieving the Impossible Dream Three women profoundly influenced Judy Profeta's life. One taught her to appreciate beauty and to work hard; and the other two, to believe in HERSELF, and to dream big. Jan 2008

Sheila Madden

Judy Profeta describes herself as happy by nature. Yet make no mistake, things have not always been easy for her. The life that Judy has today she has created with her powerful ability to envision what is possible and her resilience and courage to do what it takes to make her dreams come true.

Judy was eight years old when her mother first brought her to visit Carmel. There was no place further from the reality of Judy's day-to-day life than the beautiful, 1950's Bohemian Carmel-By-The-Sea. Yet after the first visit she knew that Carmel was where she belonged and where she would eventually work and live. It was a dream completely beyond her reach. She did not know how or when she would make it happen, but she never stopped believing that it would become a reality.

In describing her childhood trips to Carmel she says, "It was perfection for us, visually and spiritually. This was the place that was soul satisfying. I knew I belonged here."

Modest Roots
Judy was born in San Jose, California in what she describes as a low-income family. Her single mom, Anne, worked for the Campbell Union School District to support her and her two sisters. And while it was necessary to create a very structured regimen to keep the house running smoothly, her mom was also able to instill in Judy a great love of natural beauty and of beautiful things. Sitting in her living room, Judy's eyes fill with tears as she says, "My mother sewed and so we always had pretty things. Even though we didn't have much money, I didn't know it. I grew up very happy."

Her tears were not tears of sorrow but tears of joy and gratitude. Had her mother not appreciated great beauty, Judy would never even have seen Carmel, let alone been able to create the fulfilling life she now lives here on the beautiful Monterey Peninsula.

Learning That Anything Is Possible
There was another woman in Judy's life who also had an extraordinary influence on her. When Judy was thirteen, her widowed grandfather, who was working overseas, met and married a European Countess. When they returned to the United States, Judy was immediately captivated by her new Nonna. From Italian and German heritage, Nonna mesmerized Judy with stories of her life in Europe and of her world travels. "Nonna was unlike anything in my experience. It was very magical for a young girl," she recalls.

Judy describes her Nonna as a very tall, elegant and striking woman who drew people to her with her interesting stories and life experiences. She lived in San Francisco and Judy spent summers with her. Under Nonna's tutelage Judy learned about life in other parts of the world. She learned the art of hosting parties, how to dress well and how to travel. During the many gatherings that Nonna hosted, Judy came in contact with people from around the world and it was this experience that provided her the opportunity to become very comfortable with people of diverse nationalities and cultures.

After Judy's grandfather passed away, Nonna reconnected with her dear childhood friend, Theresa, who had also lost her husband. The two lived together and as far as Judy is concerned, she gained a second grandmother. Theresa also had a brilliant mind, was a gifted artist and a fabulous storyteller.

The two women treated Judy like an adult. They opened her world to reading, art and opera. But by far the most important gift that they gave her was the constant assurance that she was wonderful and that she could be and do anything she wanted with her life.

"They taught me to not limit myself on anything, that everything is possible." Judy says.

The World Wide Journey That Lead To Real Estate
Judy married and divorced at a young age but then met and married her current husband of forty years, Bob, who is a nuclear engineer by trade. During the early years of their marriage his work offered them the opportunity to become world citizens. With Judy's adventurous spirit sparked by Nonna and Theresa's stories of the world, Judy enthusiastically embraced living internationally. They spent nine years abroad. Their first three-year assignment was in Tarapor, India. That was followed by three years in Vittoria, Spain and another three years in Taipei, Taiwan.

They returned to the United States in 1979 and lived in Morgan Hill, California. After living such an exciting and unusual life for the previous nine years, Judy found herself becoming bored and restless. She had grown up wanting to be an architect and always had a passion for design and decorating, so when a neighbor suggested that they get real estate licenses, she agreed. Judy felt that entering the world of real estate would open the door for her to do more design work and perhaps even architecture.

That goal changed when Judy very quickly became a highly successful Realtor. She discovered that in real estate she could combine her desire to help people with her artistic talent and her problem solving capabilities. Within a short time she became one of the top agents in her company.

"It was a total accident", she says about finding the vocation that changed her life forever.

But was it? As Judy's life continued to unfold, she began to understand that there are no accidents in life. What was happening was the beginning of a very mindful and focused journey to achieving her dream of returning to Carmel.

The Vision Thing
One day Judy's assistant in the Morgan Hill office where she worked told her she was going to get her broker's license. Being one who never wants to miss out on anything, she quickly realized that she couldn't have her assistant become a broker without becoming one herself.

Judy studied for and received her broker's license but had no desire or intention to own her own business. She continued to be a top producer in her company and wanted to focus on growing her sales.

"I've always been fierce about my playtime", Judy says. After eighteen years in real estate she enrolled in a class to learn new ways to continue to build her real estate business while balancing it with the rest of her life. The class proved to be a turning point and taught her something she did not expect: To create and manifest exactly what she wanted in her life.

One of the first projects in the class was to write down the vision of what her perfect day would look like five years in the future. Judy did not gravitate to this assignment because she didn't feel she was good at visioning and setting goals. Plus, having experienced the regimen her mother employed in their lives in order to survive, Judy did not want her freedom to be confined by any rigid set of goals.

With encouragement from her teacher and classmates, Judy resigned herself to write the vision statement but it took her almost six months to complete. When she began to think about her perfect day the only thing she knew for sure was that she wanted to live and work in Carmel. She persevered and at the end of six months her life picture included these statements:

• I'm in Carmel where I belong
• I have my own successful business
• I live a short distance from my office
• I am "walking distance" from downtown so that when I grow old, I can still get around
• My husband works with me
• I have six grandchildren
• I'm very involved in my community

Unwavering Belief And Going With The Flow
Once Judy had completed the process of putting her vision into words, there was no question in her mind that every single element of it would happen.

And here is the secret to her success: She never once thought or worried about how it was going to happen. Instead, she applied her single-minded focus on knowing that it would happen and she paid very close attention to all of the opportunities that began to present themselves to her.

She laughed as she explained to me that at the time, her current life had absolutely no resemblance to her dream. She still lived and worked in Morgan Hill, her husband was still in nuclear engineering with his company and their children were in college.

In a remarkable series of events, each of which called upon Judy's commitment, faith, and courage, within two years everything she had delineated, except the grandchildren, had come true.

Being Prepared When Opportunity Knocks
Judy and Bob shared the desire to live in Carmel and while they had begun to talk about selling their house in Morgan Hill and moving, the timing wasn't right. Morgan Hill had recently had an earthquake and the whole area had been redlined, reducing property values and making financing virtually impossible.

Then a client with whom Judy was working visited her at home. He and his wife loved the house and told Judy they wanted to buy it. That night at dinner Judy told Bob, "I think I may have sold the house today." As they began to talk about their dream price for selling, the phone rang. It was Judy's client offering her and Bob the exact amount that they had been discussing just moments before. Although it was wonderful to have received the perfect offer, she doubted that the client would ever get the appraisal required to secure financing, but he did. They sold the house and decided to start looking for a place in Carmel. In the meantime, they faced one slight problem. They had nowhere to live.

That problem too was solved quickly. Within a couple of days, the people who had rented a town-home for five years from Judy and Bob in Morgan Hill called to say they were moving out. This provided them with a place to live and the ability to seriously look for a home in Carmel.

It didn't take Judy long to find a house to buy in Carmel. She and Bob were still living and working in the Morgan Hill area so they decided to rent out their newly purchased Carmel house, confident that when the time was right they would be able to move into it themselves.

However, during a meeting at her Realtor's office, Judy noticed a building for rent on the same block. Thinking it would make a great real estate office and with her focus on wanting to work as well as live in Carmel, she talked with her broker in Morgan Hill to try to convince him to rent the building and open an office where she could work.

He wasn't interested but explained that she could do it if she wanted to. "Well, that is never going to happen" Judy said to herself. A few days later when she was back at her Realtor's to pick up the keys to their new home, she noticed someone pounding a "For Sale" sign on a neighboring building. She had spent enough time in Carmel to know that commercial property rarely became available. She went into the building and for the first time pictured having her own office. The next thing she knew she had put in an offer on the building.

"It was so far out of my range at the time but I knew I wanted to make an offer on it and I did. Then I figured out how to make it work."

That night at dinner, Bob was again informed of another surprise adventure. Judy told him she had bought the building and, as gently as possible, let him know that they would need his 401K funds to make it happen.

As she tried to get financing to make this part of her five-year vision come true, Judy was rejected repeatedly because the building was considered a mixed use property. It took six months but finally, the 28th lender whom Judy approached provided the financing. Never once during that time did she consider giving up or think that perhaps she had made a mistake. That was eleven years ago and the building is now her Alain Pinel office on Junipero, between 5th and 6th in downtown Carmel.

The Circle Is Complete
During the past eleven years all of the other pieces of Judy's dream life have also neatly fallen into place. The nuclear industry began to shrink so Bob joined Judy in real estate, as have each of their three children and one of Judy's sisters. While Judy is devoted to her role as owner and broker, she still does what she has always loved to do. She sells real estate. She continues to be in the top 3% of agents across the country.

She and Bob have been blessed not with six, but with eight grandchildren. A ninth is on the way. Judy cherishes her grandchildren and the opportunity to provide to them what she received so generously from her own grandmother. While her beloved Nonna died at 99, Judy's mom Anne now lives in town close to her and Bob.

Another part of her five-year vision included becoming involved in her community. As a person who started life with very little, Judy is deeply appreciative of all that she has today. She generously shares her time and talents with several non-profits and planning organizations.

She believes that helping children is the key to making the world a better place. Knowing about Judy's early experiences in life, it is no coincidence that she is involved with the Monterey County Youth Museum. At MY Museum each child is considered an inventor, teacher and artist. Unstructured play is the key to help them learn to identify what their needs are and to communicate those needs to the adults in their lives. At Kinship Center, Judy provides support in fulfilling the organization's commitment to providing adoption, foster and relative care services to the children and families of California. She has also contributed her many talents to several women's groups including the Women's Council of Realtors.

No matter what the venueófamily, work or volunteeringóJudy's objective is to help people define and successfully achieve their goals. Judy's message is consistent, "The most critical part of the journey is knowing where you want to be." Guided by those words she counsels her clients, trusting that the details will unfold perfectly so that their dreams come true.

"If I had tried to plan each step of implementing my vision it never, ever would have happened," Judy says.

When asked how she feels now about the power of creating a life vision she smiles and says, "What happens is extraordinary."

Indeed it is, as is she. Judy's life story is a wonderful reminder that no dream is truly impossible when you believe in it and yourself. Bravo Judy! °

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