“Pathmaker, there is no path; You make the path by walking... by walking you make the path.” - A. Machado. This quote was a resounding refrain in our crazy adventure – deciding to move across the country six years ago. We embraced the unknown, never looked back, and created a wonderful life for our young family.

It was late 2015. It was the biggest risk we had ever taken. A wild and almost foolish idea... “Let’s take the equity in our house and move somewhere else.” At the time, we lived in Southern California with a toddler and a newborn and were feeling stuck in the proverbial “rat race” of juggling two careers while raising a family. We wanted nothing more than to slow down and watch our kids grow up. My wife, Asha, and I had lived in California our entire lives, and moving meant leaving family and friends, careers we loved, and all that was familiar. But the idea of slowing down began resonating at a deep level. We imagined how Abraham felt when God spoke to him – something like “Go...” and “I will show you...” Embracing the unknown began to enliven our faith and eventually became a beautiful adventure for us!

After researching places to move, we came across Nashville as a top destination. I thought to myself, I know somebody who lives in Nashville! We reached out... “No, we live in Knoxville.” They graciously invited us (that good ol’ Southern hospitality) to come out and showed us why Knoxville may be a better choice for us. We fell in love with Knoxville and quickly decided to call it our new home. It was a whirlwind of decisions. We were so blessed that a portion of our Southern California equity allowed us to purchase a larger home in Knoxville with cash - and with more land! In July of 2016, we became official Knoxvillians. In only eight months, our crazy idea of moving materialized. We were mortgage-free and Asha was now a stay-at-home mama with our two beauties – Aaleyah (four years) and Savannah (two years).

Taking risks was not new to me. With the heart of an entrepreneur, I succeeded at several businesses throughout my life. It was in my late 20s that life threw me a curveball. I sold my last business. I was at a crossroads. I fell into a depression after a failed engagement – the wedding was only three months away. A friend encouraged me to go see a therapist after being lost and aimless for about a year. Another wise saying that I love is “pain is a good teacher.”

Therapy and self-discovery became the new “stepping into the unknown” for me and taught me that risking vulnerability was a significant pathway to personal development. I was able to begin healing from a lifetime of grief, disappointment and unresolved conflict. Eventually, my relationship with my therapist evolved into a personal mentorship. I wanted to give back what was given to me, and so I then decided to go back to school. I earned my degree in clinical psychology and graduated at the top of my class in 2014. Before moving to Knoxville, my wife and I were both therapists working with individuals, couples and families.

The synchronicity of my life-experiences, business ventures and educational background provided me with a great foundation to launch a career as a REALTOR®. I’ve also been fortunate to receive training and mentorship by some of the best in our industry, and my business has exponentially grown over the years. Being a REALTOR® has been a rich and meaningful career! My heart is full of gratitude after serving hundreds of clients since 2017 – if you are one of those clients reading this, I want to say thank you once again for trusting me with your real estate needs!

Our momentum keeps building! My beautiful wife Asha recently got her license as a REALTOR®! She is going to be an amazing agent! More than anything, apart from business stats and early success – we love the people we get to serve! “People over Profit” – passed down to me by one of my favorite brokers/mentors – has been and will continue to be a guiding principle. We aim to make the exciting experiences of selling or buying a home feel as easy and smooth as possible. We’d love to sit down with you, hear your story and understand your unique real estate needs. Please don’t hesitate to call us when you have a need or consider passing along our info to your friends and family.

Much love and blessing! Mark & Asha