We recently connected with Barbara Moreira-Curran and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Barbara, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.

I grew up in a small town. I am the oldest child; I have a little brother and I had a little sister who passed away 6 years ago. Our family, as 70% of the entire Brazilian population was poor. My dad started working when he was 9 years old, as a butcher, growing up his family many times did not have money to eat, and I think that his goal when he started a family was to never let that happen to his children. As I mentioned before, we were poor, most of our clothes and toys were donated, I remember that my mom only had one green sweater for winter, and I saw her wearing it for at least 12 years.
Because of my dad’s arduous work, we had a delicious meal made by my mom on the table. My dad, was not the perfect that but he showed me by example that with hard work and honesty, I could succeed in life, he left the poverty line, bought us a house and I had a loving childhood, my mom was the most caring a loving mom anyone could ever ask for, she also worked hard, besides raising three children , she worked as a cleaning lady , in Brazil unfortunately this job is not recognized as it should and I remember her many times coming home exhausted , but always ready to give us love and cook us a delicious meal, my mom though me to be a caring person, she showed me the importance of helping others, we didn’t have much, but every time she baked a cake, she would ask me to bring a piece to our neighbor, or to my aunt, or to anyone that she knew that at the time couldn’t afford sweets. She also made sure to pass along clothes that didn’t fit us anymore, and every time someone asked to borrow money to pay their rent or utilities she would convince my dad to help them out, both of them knew that in most cases that money wouldn’t come back, they also knew that we could use that money, but they helped anyways.
What my parents did right was to by example, show me that life is about helping others, in Brazil we have a saying that translates to “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours”.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

What sets me apart from others is the fact that I do not care how big or small or how expensive the property is, I treat all my clients equally, I respect how hard they had to work to become homeowners or buy investment properties. Foreigners from all over the world chose me to be their Realtor, some of my clients and I do not speak the same language, but I speak the language of compassion and respect for their needs which is the same in all languages. They can feel how much I appreciate and value their trust in me. It is mutual feeling of gratitude, since I am a foreigner myself, I can put myself in their shoes and I try to communicate in a way that they utterly understand. I am most proud of impacting the foreigner/Latino community in a positive way, by showing them that the American Dream of home ownership is possible. I feel honored that these amazing people chose me to guide them through the home buying or selling process and I am grateful that they chose me to help them conquer their deserved wealth.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I have come a long way, overcame poverty by working since the age of 14 years old, left everything behind and moved to America when I was 21 years old. Nothing broke me like when my little sister died suddenly of a heart attack, when she was only 15 years young. She was in the hospital for one week, which gave me time to fly to Brazil in hopes that I could tell her in person how much I loved her. The day that I got to see her, the doctor told us that she was doing better and gave us hope.
She had always been beautiful but when I entered the ICU room, even though she had machines in every part of her little body she looked so calm and beautiful, her hair always perfect curly was in a high bun, she did not look human to me, she looked like an angel. She was in an induced coma, but I know she heard me, I told her that I loved her and that I was home, and I could not wait to hug her.
The hospital was two hours from our hometown, we left the hospital full of hope. When we got home, my mom who had not eaten for almost one week decided to have dinner with me, we started planning who would sleep in the hospital switching nights when my sister went to the normal hospital room, what clothes we should start separating to bring her, who would drive … When the phone rang, my mom was still eating so I answered it, I could not believe it, it was like a nightmare, the worst day of our lives. In Brazil, the funerals have to be planed for the same day, we received the news around 9 pm, my sisters body got the cemetery and funeral home at 2 am, I remember that around 5 am when the sun rise started, I couldn’t understand how could the sun still shine in the worst day of my life? How was it possible that the time did not stop?
I left Brazil one month after the funeral, and my heart stayed there.
As soon as I got home, I started therapy and that year I read fifty-two books on self-help. People react in different ways to a significant loss, and I learned that my way of dealing with it was making my parents proud so I could somehow bring them a sparkle of joy.
After two years of healing and going throw different career paths (nanny, secretary, insurance agent) I decided to become the best version of myself in all aspects: mentally, physically, financially and spiritually and that’s when I decided to become a Realtor , I knew that this career would bring me joy for helping others , financially freedom to help and visit my family, and after all ,this path exceeded my expectations.
I became the best version of myself, after the worst day of my life, for the love I have for my family. I will never understand why my little sister had to go so soon, and my heart will always be broken, but I am thankful that I had a little sister and because of her I am a better person.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

What helped me build my reputation within my market is my caring, respect, and arduous work. As I mention before I feel honored that these amazing people chose me to be their realtor, these people who are such hard workers, these people who, in most cases had to leave everything behind in order to try a better life here in the USA, that I devote my life to guide through the home buying process , I take them by hand and I am so grateful that they chose me to help them conquer their deserved wealth. By helping these people to achieve their dream of home ownership in this amazing country I am fulfilling my life’s purpose and there is no better way of having a great reputation than absolutely loving what you do for a living.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realestatebybarbarac/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barbara-moreira-curran-153269191/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@barbaracurran1118
• Other: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7G8gvxp_MNw&t=10s In this video, I explain the reason why so many Brazilians/Latinos/Foreigners, love Knoxville!

Image Credits
Photographer Carol Kohls took the first picture, that I am by myself with the light pink dress.