There you are … watching the Eastern Hills High School baseball team hosting one of their rivals in Fort Worth in 2000.

 

The crowd noise swells as Julian “Juice” Williams strides to the plate. He swings, and the crowd roars as the ball rockets over the fence for a home run.

 

Julian was a high school All-American Outfielder/Pitcher, and then went on to achieve the same lofty All-American status in college.

 

Today, Julian lives his All-American dream as a Broker-Associate and Principal of the JW Group at Compass — still delivering a crowd-stirring impact.

 

Beyond being a standout athlete, Julian also saw the powerful example his parents set in real estate.

 

“My mother was a Broker. My parents got involved in real estate early on. With the encouragement of my Father, my mother, Barbara Williams, started the first Spanish-speaking, Latina-owned real estate brokerage in Tarrant County over 25 years ago,” Julian smiles with pride. “Helping people was engrained in me.”

 

Julian’s athletic prowess continued. He was an All-American and conference MVP at Dallas County Community College’s Eastfield College, then continued at Kansas State University before rounding out his collegiate days at the University of Texas-Tyler playing for James Vilade, one of the winningest coaches in NCAA baseball history.

 

“Coach Vilade was a pivotal force in my life. He taught me two important lessons that I still follow,” Julian remembers. “The first is how much you care about what you do, and second … how hard you’re willing to work at it. That has stuck with me throughout both my personal and professional life.” 

 

Julian earned his nickname, “Juice,” as a 7-year-old kid and it still sticks with him. Julian hit the first home run out of the new University of Texas-Tyler stadium. He also had a great shot at playing professional baseball. The Cubs had expressed interest. In fact, he went to the MLB Combine — the pre-draft assembly of the greatest players.

 

During the Combine, he suffered a serious, torn hamstring. In turn, he wasn’t drafted. But Julian picked himself up.  He enrolled in The University of North Texas in Denton that fall semester as a fifth-year senior to complete his Bachelor’s Degree while rehabbing his leg. That December, he signed his first professional contract with the Golden Baseball League as one of only 20 players from 300-plus tryout hopefuls, once again against all odds.

 

Julian earned his real estate license while he pursued his baseball career, eventually growing in both directions at once. During the off-season, he went home to learn the real estate business, working with his family while training to compete and pursue his dreams in the summer. During his brief stint at the University of North Texas, he met Amanda during a night out with friends. Amanda was visiting her family while she pursued a law degree from Texas Tech University.

 

“Amanda traveled to see me play. I played baseball in the summer and sold real estate in off-season. I did that for three years, then hung up my cleats due to my nagging leg injury. I was close,” Julian grins. “I was invited to Spring Training with the Detroit Tigers as a left handed pitcher. Not many know that in 2007, I had put my bat down and took to the pitcher's mound finishing Top 10 in the United Baseball League in ERA, throwing over 100 innings my first full year on the mound and helping my team to the Championship Series. In 2008, Amanda graduated Law School and took a job in Dallas as a first-year Attorney, and soon after, we got married. After an exhausting 2008 season, I ended up retiring after bouncing around to four different teams in three different leagues all in that one summer.”

 

After sports, Julian worked as a Loan Officer and Mortgage Underwriter. In time, he moved into management, leading a team of 30. He and Amanda built their first house, and he was making a solid six-figure salary with bonuses. Life was good. Then Julian remembers getting a pivotal call from his sister. 

 

“She said my mother had a very rare form of blood cancer called Multiple Myeloma. She had to start treatment immediately. I closed my laptop, walked into my superior’s office, handed it to him, and walked out to be with my family,” he recalls. “I came home and mom said, ‘What are you doing? Aren’t you supposed to be at work? You know I’m going to be okay.’ I told her I was here for her and my family and to help with the family office . She said, ‘You need to go back to work, son.’ I said, ‘I am at work. Right here with you. Now… what can I do to help?’” 

 

Julian later opened his own boutique brokerage, JW Realty Partners with his parents’ blessing, leading a multimillion-dollar brokerage of 20 agents. A couple weeks before the grand opening of his team’s sleek new office, his mother passed away while he was by her side. Devastation set in, but he knew he had two options. Shut down and run from reality or rise up and go harder. He knew he had to do something. 

 

“My parents had a mortgage obligation at the Fort Worth family office, and now here I was opening up this new office in Las-Colinas Class A office building. Several months later, I was stretched by carrying both a mortgage and a lease payment on the new space. After thoughts and prayer, I subleased the space and went back to the office building in Ft. Worth my family had operated out of the past 20+ years — eventually renovating and building it out again,” he says.

 

“My wife pushed me to decide. She believed in me and knew I was destined for greatness if I could focus on being the best real estate broker I could be. ‘Sometimes in life we don’t ask questions. We just do.’”

 

Julian treasures time with Amanda (a highly ambitious and super successful Board-Certified Labor and Employment Attorney with leading national firm Greenberg Traurig), and their children — Nia Nicole Williams (4), and Jalen Skye Williams (1). He’s also very thankful for his proud father, Johnnie Williams; his brother, Jaime Williams; and his sister, Jonna Jackson, hence The JW Group … Johnnie Williams, Jaime Williams, and Jonna Williams (maiden name). 

 

Today, Julian keeps God first in everything. He’s thankful that he and his team have become part of the Compass organization. He excels in the Compass Sports Entertainment Division … as one of five who work in the division in Dallas-Ft. Worth and one of just 150 out of over 25,000 Compass agents nationally. In the process, he serves a variety of professional athletes and celebrities, as well as the general public.

 

Julian has a drive to impart and expand the American Dream within others.

 

“I want to be an inspiration … not an influencer,” Julian says with a thoughtful smile. “An influence is when you have control over someone. Instead, I want to be an inspiration and leader for my kids, my family, and the next person that may have doubts in their ability to be great. Greatness is within us all.”

 

Truly, Julian Williams is an inspiration … lifting others up and closer to their dreams. 

 

“My favorite quote is from Our Deepest Fear by Marianne Williamson. ‘He who has put the determination within your heart will give you the ability to succeed.‘“