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John Donnelly

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United States
Plano, TX
John Donnelly

Executive Director of Sales
NMLS # 87195

Servant Leader | Coach | Business Builder | Service First M

09/03/2026

Today we celebrated the life of Liz Hoyle.

Listening to Shawn Broussard share stories about Liz today, one thing really stood out. She had a way of making people feel like they mattered.

Liz was the very first loan officer hired at SFMC Home Lending. She helped set the standard for everyone who came after her. She was professional, driven, cared deeply about people, and represented our values incredibly well.

I heard several people talk today about their first days with the company and how Liz would introduce herself and tell them she was taking them to lunch. She did not wait for someone else to make people feel welcome. That was just Liz.

I was fortunate to work alongside her, travel with her on company trips, and get to know her over the years. One thing I will always remember is how proud she was of her son, Dee. If Dee was speaking on a call, Liz was going to make sure everyone knew, “That’s my son.” She loved him and was incredibly proud of him.

Seeing so many people from our company and our industry together today said a lot about the impact she made.

Thank you, Liz. You set the standard from the beginning. You made people feel welcome, you cared about people, and you made a difference.

That’s a legacy worth celebrating.

09/01/2026

You know a company is special when some of your best memories have very little to do with work.

Today we celebrated Founders Day at SFMC Home Lending and 29 years since Shawn Broussard had the vision and courage to start this company.

I joined Service First in February 2009, along with a few people who are still here today. It’s pretty cool to think I’ve now been part of more than 17 of those 29 years.

We played a little Family Feud, shared stories, and looked back at how far we’ve come.

It got me looking through old photos afterward, and I was reminded just how much life we’ve done together.

President’s Club trips. Weddings. Babies being born. Celebrations. Crazy adventures. A whole lot of laughter.

And somewhere in the middle of all of it, we helped thousands and thousands of families buy homes.

The longer I do this, the more I appreciate the relationships.

Some of the people I’ve worked alongside here for years are much more than coworkers. Some are still here. Some have moved on. All of them are part of the story.

Think about what has come from Shawn’s decision 29 years ago to start this company.

Careers were built. Friendships were formed. Families were helped. People grew. Memories were made.

I’m grateful to Shawn for the vision that started it and to every person who has helped make SFMC Home Lending what it is today.

Happy Founders Day, Service First.

Here’s to the memories we haven’t made yet.

08/31/2026

Want to know what someone really prioritizes?

Look at their calendar.

I’ve learned this the hard way over the years.

I used to think I would find time for the things I knew were important. I’d make the recruiting calls when I had a minute. I’d coach when things settled down. I’d review the business when I had some open time.

The problem is that time rarely shows up.

Especially in the mortgage business.

There is always another call to take, another loan that needs attention, another problem to solve, or someone who needs your help.

Before you know it, the day is gone.

I still must work at this, but I’ve gotten much better about protecting time for the things I know will matter six months from now.

Recruiting and developing people. Following up. Reviewing the business. Sometimes just having quiet time to think about where we’re going and what needs to change.

Does my calendar always go according to plan?

Not even close.

Some days it gets blown up by 9:00 am.

But I’ve learned that if I don’t intentionally make room for the important things, the urgent things will take every minute I give them.

We say a lot of things are important.

Our calendars are where those claims get tested.

Look at your calendar from last week.

Would it be obvious what your goals are?

08/27/2026

Happy birthday to one of my favorite people, Matt Royal.

I was flipping through my phone today and found picture after picture of us over the years. It made me realize we’ve been doing life together since 2009.

Seventeen years. Hard to believe.

We’ve been through just about everything. The highs and lows of the mortgage business, President’s Club trips, family vacations, road trips, Mavericks games, and a whole lot of life in between.

Some of the memories are just so very Matt.

Pulling over for bluebonnet pictures on the way to a TMBA conference. Checking out Brushy Bill’s grave. Stopping for happy hour at what we call the Pie Hole. Trying, and failing, to stay awake all night smoking a brisket.

And Costa Rica, where Matt was convinced the scented towel they gave him before our couples massage roofied him.

But what I appreciate most isn’t any one story.

Through every twist and turn, Matt has been one of my people. One of the guys in my village. One of my ride-or-dies.

No matter what life or this crazy mortgage business has thrown at us, I know he has my back, and he knows I have his.

Those kinds of friendships are one of the greatest blessings of being in this business as long as we have.

Happy birthday, my friend.

Thanks for 17 years of friendship, laughter, Mavs basketball, and memories.

Here’s to many more.

08/26/2026

Two boxes of books sat unopened in a closet for almost two years.

I finally opened them.

Near the top was my original hardcover copy of Bluefishing by Steve Sims.

Bookmarks still in it.

I started flipping through it and quickly realized how many of Steve's lessons I still use today.

Ask why three times.

Pay attention to what matters to people.

Do something unexpected.

Spend your time with people who pass the Chug Test.

And stop waiting for someday.

Steve passed away last year after a courageous fight with cancer, which made reading those words hit differently this time.

I knew Steve. I hired him to speak to our sales team. More importantly, I got to call him a friend.

I wrote about some of the lessons he left with me and included a pretty cool video Steve made for me years ago that I've never shared publicly.

If you'd like to read it, the full article is in the comments.

Thanks, Steve.

08/25/2026

Maybe you don’t need more leads.

That thought hit me at lunch the other day.

We were talking about the stat floating around that 80% of Realtors haven’t closed a transaction in 2026.

I don’t know if that number is accurate.

But I do know too many of us are chasing relationships with people we don’t know without realizing how connected we already are.

It reminded me of one of my favorite lessons from The Power of Who by Bob Beaudine:

“You already know everyone you need to know.”

You may not know every great Realtor in your market.

But you probably know someone who does.

Try this today.

Call 5 people and ask:

“If you were selling your house today, who is the Realtor you would call?”

Then ask for an introduction.

Five calls. One question.

Your next great relationship may already be one introduction away.

08/24/2026

I really didn’t want to work out this morning.

I slept terribly. Didn’t feel great. And I could have come up with plenty of good reasons to skip it.

But I went.

I made a commitment to myself, so I showed up.

It got me thinking about this post I wrote four years ago:

“The days that break you are the days that make you.”

I still believe every word of it.

But four years later, I think there’s another side to it.

Most of the days that shape us aren’t the huge, painful days we remember forever.

They’re the ordinary days when we don’t feel like doing what we know we need to do.

The workout when you’re tired.

The call you’ve been putting off.

The difficult conversation that needs to happen.

Nobody applauds those days. Most people never even know about them.

But they add up.

And I’ve been thinking a lot lately about one question:

Where do you want to go?

Not where you are today.

Not what you have already accomplished.

Where do you actually want to go?

Because once you’re clear on that, the question becomes pretty simple:

Are the choices you’re making today taking you there?

Some days you’ll crush it.

Some days you’ll just show up.

Both count.

08/21/2026

The robots still can’t do your push-ups for you.

We were joking about AI and self-driving cars at the gym this morning.

Technology can make a lot of things easier. But it still can’t do the work for you.

There’s something about walking out of the gym on a Friday morning as the sun is coming up that feels good. You showed up all week, got up early again, and finished strong.

Kobe Bryant called it the Mamba Mentality.

“Great things come from hard work and perseverance. No excuses.”

For years, I struggled to stay consistent in the gym.

Fight and Conquer Fitness gave me a better environment. I show up. The workout is on the wall. The trainer holds me accountable. And I’m surrounded by people doing the work right alongside me.

It made consistency easier.

I wish I had found it sooner.

But maybe sooner wouldn’t have mattered.

I had to be ready to do the work.

The right system helps. The right people help. Accountability helps.

But at some point, you still have to do the push-ups.

Where in your life do you know you just need to put in the reps?

08/20/2026

A Rolodex can tell you who you know.

It can't remind you who you're forgetting.

These two pictures of Kevin Copher were taken 11 years apart.

Same guy. Same Rolodex.

Kevin and I have worked together for more than 20 years. He's one of my ride-or-die people and has built a great career by taking care of people and valuing relationships.

For the last 12 months, we've been dialing in our CRM, and Kevin has embraced what we're building.

I've also watched Natalee Sue Berry, another seasoned professional on our team, use tasks and reminders to create what she calls "bulletproof follow-up."

I love that phrase because that's exactly what we've been trying to build.

A great CRM doesn't replace relationships. It protects the follow-up.

It turns "I need to call them" into a task that actually gets done.

The technology doesn't make the call or build the trust. You still have to do that.

The fundamentals haven't changed.

Relationships. Follow-up. Trust. Consistency.

We're just finding better tools to do those things even better.

If you're in sales and this resonates with you, reach out. I'm always happy to share what we're learning and what's working for us.

08/19/2026

For the last two and a half months, I’ve stepped on the scale almost every morning.

I’ve been working hard to lose weight and get healthier.

Every day I track my steps, my water, what I eat, and my workouts.

Some mornings I step on the scale, and the number is down.

Some mornings it hasn’t moved.

And occasionally, after doing everything I thought I was supposed to do, it’s actually up.

I’ll be honest. That can be frustrating.

My first reaction is usually, what did I do wrong?

But I’m learning something through this process.

The scale tells me where I am today.

It doesn’t necessarily tell me whether yesterday’s decisions were good.

My steps, my food, my water and my workouts are the work.

The number on the scale is the result.

And there is often a delay between the two.

I think business works the same way.

You make the calls.

You follow up.

You invest in relationships.

You have the conversations.

You plant the seeds.

Then you look at your production and wonder why the results aren’t there yet.

Sometimes you need to adjust. Sometimes you need to get better.

But one bad weigh in doesn’t mean I need a new plan.

And one slow month doesn’t necessarily mean the strategy is wrong.

Before I start changing the plan, I need to be honest with myself about whether I’m actually doing the things I said I would do.

I’m learning to judge myself more by whether I did the work and less by what the scale says on any one morning.

I think that’s a pretty good way to look at business too.

Do the right things consistently.

Give the results time to catch up.

What are you doing consistently today that you’re still waiting to see the results from?

Address

6275 W Plano Pkwy
Plano, TX
75093

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm

Website

https://playbig.mortgage/, https://calendly.com/johnsfmc

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