All The Bad News of recent months and the toughness of this market has caused me to reflect on myself, my business and the past. When things seem bad, one rarly or can accurately sense that it can get worse, much worse.
To put things in perspective, when things are worse than bad, is it real or perceived? As "Seemingly" would have it, all the media "hype" does play on the public and entreprenureal psyche and contributes more to the degredation of business, mind and spirit, than bad business itself.
My reflection takes me back a couple of years ago (May '07) when business was starting to decline and the housing bubble started to leak. Just when our local market began to realized that business was in decline, and that there were definately strong external factors causing this downward trend, my business was stopped dead in the tracks of FATE ? (or, more accurately, the tracks of an automobile).
I was in my office at 4:59 pm on the Friday leading into the Memorial Day weekend. The last thing I remember was that my mouse pointer was over the 'shutdown' button on my laptop and my almost 'completed' thought was "I am going to take the entire 3 days off, relax, drink a fews beers, bratwurst on the grill, movie, etc., come back on Tuesday morning refreshed, replenished, and Hit It Hard!!!
and then .........
BANG!!!!
I felt the building shake before I actually heard the noise. I looked up from my computer and seen the ceiling tiles crash to the floor just outside my office door. A plume of white sheetrock dust seemed to roll up from the floor like that of a large bomb blast. Initially thinking that something came down on top of the roof of the building, I managed to stand and move to my office door where the first thing I recognized was a shiney chrome bumper. The front end of a car! In My Office! Yikes!!!
Right through the glass front of the building, through the conference room, and into the copy and work center of the back of the office. Everything that was between the front glass wall and the copy machine was ...er...well...rearranged...crushed...fodder.
So much for looking forward to a relaxing three-day weekend with friends and family. So much for all those prevailing last cognizant thoughts.
It took hours into the evening to secure the building, and weeks to get the mess cleaned and the office rebuilt.
As luck would have it, nobody was injured in the accident (funny how luck works - inches to the right, car would have hit brick and little penetration. A foot to the left, car would have penetrated my office and I would have been pinned behind my desk.)
Three Great Things (and one inevitable) came of all this. First, I learned how to survive in the face of adversity. When it seems like all the chips are down, it can get worse. It doesn't make any sense to dwell or worry about what could or might happen. I've learned to stay focused on the NOW and into the future! Deal with the bad when the bad happens. It wasn't easy to see my office in shambles and know that I had to keep going, but sometimes it's these type of events that make us all dig deep down for that little extra strength. We all have it in us, some of just fail to realize how to discover or access it.
All aside, I guess the moral of this story is that in the face of adversity, we can all discover ways to keep it all going. Finding ways to stay motivated should be a high priority to anyone associated with the real estate industry and/or everyone who might be affected by this country's current economic condition.
The Second thing was that when it was all over, I had a somewhat newly remodeled office. Yea, I lost some favorite pieces of furniture and other stuff was damaged, but the new office inspired me daily and provided me a visual reminder of my resiliance and determination to succeed. My new toughness was born this day and me made me ready for anything, even a down market (it's just unfortunate that for some of us, there is a price for discovery).
Never just give up withoug a fight!
I've since purchased another franchise and business is okay (a new franchise going into a down market was a questionable and gutsy decision in itself). Working harder and longer, and with more technology, keeps me in this new balance. The founder and CEO of EXiT Realty, Steve Morris, sums it all up this way:
"You never really lose until you quit trying."
The Third thing, and the one that bugs me the most is that deep down inside, something tells me that the concept of drive-thru real estate will someday work and, I'll be the last to realize it!
Oh yeah, the inevitable; Uninsured Driver!
