Life, Values & Legacy: Our Chat with Clair Crawford of Scottsdale/ The White Mountains

We recently had the chance to connect with Clair Crawford and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Clair, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to share your story, experiences and insights with our readers. Let’s jump right in with an interesting one: What are you being called to do now, that you may have been afraid of before?
Creating a new path, a new identity. Having spent the majority of my life (19 years) as a professional adventure sports athlete an identity forms around that. The day I decided to retire and begin something new was sudden. I had spent a few years dabbling in photography/videography, however I hadn’t decided on that as a career path. It was more of a creative outlet in my down time. Giving up everything I knew and everything I had created up until that point was one of the most trying times in my life. But just like all things, I dove in head first. I traded my helmet for a lap top and my parachute for a camera. Splitting my time as both a Real Estate Agent and a photographer/videographer. I always remember having anxiety around the thought of a new career path, so I chose not to think about it until the day came. What I have realized is, It doesn’t matter what your job title is or what industry you work in there is always the option to push yourself. To improve, to accomplish but most importantly, to learn.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I spent 19 years as a professional adventure sports athlete. Though my sport I was introduced to the creative side, Photography and Video work. It was though being in front of the camera that I was exposed to the creative process and fell in love with it. Finally something outside of sports, something that really captivated my attention. As I phased out my sports my career my life took a natural shift. I began doing photo/video work for other athletes, brands and sponsors. All through word of mouth! I love creative work but as any creative knows, there can be a lot of down time between gigs and I am not one for down time! I decided it was time to do the one thing that always scared me and that was to explore a “Normal” job. So in classic form I picked the one “Normal” profession that had infinite possibilities for growth and expansion. And so I began my career as a Real Estate Agent on one of the top teams in Arizona. The sudden shift in career and combining two new paths was surprisingly cohesive despite being completely 180 degrees from one another. Splitting my time between the two allows me both the creative outlet I need as well as the stability and ability to scale and grow professionally and personally. It also keeps me on my toes and always busy which I love. I have an inability to give less than 100%, Something I learned through my sports, so splitting my time and still giving each aspect of my life 100% forces a flow state.

Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
The world has never had the ability to tell me who I had to be. I have always marched to the beat of my own drum, following which ever path feels the most right regardless of outside opinion! I have always been a go-getter and given 100% when I settle on a direction. I don’t believe in failure I believe in lessons. Some lessons are painful, some lessons follow you around nipping at your heels but at the end of the day each experience teaches us! If the world ever tried to tell me who I had to be I would just go build in private, sticking to my chosen path and doing things my way!

What did suffering teach you that success never could?
Suffering teaches you resilience, it teaches you how to get back up over and over, because there truly is no other option. Even if you decided to get up and change direction you still have to get up. I’ve said my whole life that I am really good at suffering. When times or conditions get hard is when I see the most improvement. Suffering shows you what you are truly capable of and it makes the victories sweeter. It teaches you to value the good times, to be grateful in all things and no matter how much it hurts now, it is temporary. If you were to get everything handed to you in life, if everything was easy you would never know the level you could grow to, you would never know the feeling of true gratitude.

So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Is the public version of you the real you?
I have strived my entire life to be real in all situations! In a world where everyone and everything seems to be curated being real is the true test of a person. With that said being real and how I am interpreted by others perception is completely out of my control. I always do my best to be exactly who I am in all situations regardless of audience!

Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. If you laid down your name, role, and possessions—what would remain?
Having recently done just that I can say what remains is your heart, your outlook and your lessons. If you have nothing in the physical and have to rebuild you are never starting from zero! I am a better person every day through all of my experiences. Even if no one knows my name, what I do, what I have done. I still carry with me all that I have learned and experienced.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://davidnewmanpartners.com/agents/clair-crawford and https://clairmariecreative.com/
• Instagram: @justtobeclair
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Clair-Crawford/pfbid02rN7PmBoub2j1oks3JZuTC4L84Mgpu1FfX816uQ9CPhjmjRE4jpEHtX18Grbaxy6Hl/