This week’s Thursday thoughts will probably feel a bit different than usual. These quick messages are literally just my thoughts on events and topics I encounter during the week. Sometimes they may be valuable, other times not so much and I’m okay with that.
Strap in because HERE WE GO! This week the world lost a great man. Someone who impacted more lives than he will ever know. (Mine being one of them) He was a husband, father, grandfather, friend, mentor, business partner, and so much more to many. My fellow KW agents likely know who I’m talking about and I plan to leave his name out of this message.
This Thursday Thought begins all the way back in 2008. At the time I just passed my real estate exam and the Team Leader of a local KW office named Julie Brown (another person I still have a great deal of respect for) said “Jamie, this guy teaching a class that I believe would help you get your career started the right way.” Of course being the hungry new agent I was I jumped at the opportunity to sit in a classroom to listen to someone discuss how to do real estate. (Yes, that is a jab at all the new agents reading this who are taking every class under the sun and educating themselves out of the business. Stop reading this now and go talk to some people)
Anyway, I digress…
I’ll never forget this day because it had such an impact on my career and life. The only thing I knew about the class was the address for the venue and if memory serves me correctly it was saved on the latest and greatest Blackberry. I must have driven in circles for 30 minutes trying to find the event. I finally threw in the towel and called the office that invited me, which is when I learned the class was being held in the very back of a music store named Family Music. Fortunately, I happened to be parked right by the front door and didn’t know it. I step out of my fancy real estate agent car (You know the one…. a 2005 Ford Explorer) and awkwardly walk into a music store looking to learn how to start my real estate career.
I remember vividly walking through the store and finding my way to the back. I was not sure what the heck I was getting myself into. I didn’t know anyone. I had only talked to Julie over the phone and here I am about to walk into a room full of professional real estate agents not knowing anything. It was a strange experience, the music store had some sort of makeshift practice studio that had been turned into a classroom for the day. We had to sit on a set of wobbly risers like the ones you did your fourth grade class photos on shaking because you’re scared you would fall off the back in front of everyone. I was hesitant about the entire thing and wondering what kind of crazy crap I was getting myself into. What kind of people host a “great training” in a strange closet like room in the back of a music store? Julie came over and introduced herself. Thankfully she made me feel very welcome even though I had absolutely no business being there. As everyone made their way into the room she introduced me to the person leading the class. Remember I don’t have a license, I’m completely new to real estate, and I had absolutely no idea who I just met. Truth be told I didn’t even remember his name. (yes that’s how I roll. 20 seconds tops and the name is just gone. Forever)
Naturally for real estate agents someone notices we are behind schedule and asks everyone to take their seats and class begins. Within minutes I find myself feverishly taking notes. You have to know, I’m not a note taker. I draw pictures so I look like I’m taking notes but for some reason I was completely fascinated by everything this guy said. I remember looking around at others in the room thinking how are you not writing this down? Is this something that happens so often you’re bored? Give this man the respect he deserves and at least pretend to write. My mind was not only blown at the content this instructor had prepared but the cavalier attitude the rest of the group had. (If you’re reading this and you were part of that class I’m sorry but you really should have been taking notes). The longer the class went on the more excited I became about my decision to make a career out of real estate and leave my 9-5. I was so excited that I committed to start working with a coach the second my license made it to the brokerage. Her name is Dana. More on her in a future Thursday Thought.
Coming from the corporate world I had never experienced someone talking about living a life by design. What a concept. Design the life you want. So profound, yet so simple. The fact that work expands to the time allowed was not even on my radar. In fact, my world it was the exact opposite. Life was what you did between shifts and work was what allowed you to do that. Sitting in that class, in some weird room in the back of a music store, worried I’m going to fall of the risers, before my application to the state was complete it was already clear to me I was aligning with the right organization. Every word that came out of this guys mouth felt like I was in some sort of strange real estate church. I was sold, big time. I fully expected to go to a class where some expert stood on stage and vomited tactics. In my naive inexperienced brain I told myself I could outwork anyone. As soon as I know what to do there would not be an agent in Las Vegas that stood a chance. I figured I’d attend the class, get the tactics, and go execute. Little did I know one of the hardest lessons of my real estate career would come out of class that day. I learned that success (in any business) isn’t about tactics, it’s about knowing what you want out of life and using a business, in this case real estate,to get it. It’s about designing a schedule that allows you to hit your goals and live that life. Most importantly it’s about focusing on growing yourself in order for your business to grow. This lesson hit me like a punch in the gut. All I knew was how to work hard. I understood how to work long hours sacrificing health and relationships along the way. I was driven and motivated. I was young and had a chip on my shoulder with something to prove. Although, to this day I’m not really sure who I had something to prove to. I thought all of those things with the sacrifices I was willing to make would guarantee my success and here is this guy telling me what got me here will not likely get me where I want to go. That was a tough pill to swallow on essentially day one of my real estate career. I knew how to work hard. I didn’t know what it meant to grow myself. I didn’t understand “thinking time.” I didn’t comprehend being paid on the value I provide, not the hours that I logged. The words I heard that day were exactly what I needed to hear yet I had absolutely no idea HOW to do it. In short that day I learned it was about what I needed to become, not what I needed to do. To be clear, knowing that and understanding what that means are two different things which can take an entire lifetime of practice to get right.
Not long after class ended I learned the soft spoken, dynamic, humble man who just stood in front of the room and casually told us not to allow ourselves to be confused because selling real estate isn’t about selling real estate at all was a big deal. I learned he was a best selling author of multiple books. He apparently worked closely with Gary Keller to make the company what it is today and as luck would have it he was also a partner in the brokerage that I decided to hang my license at.
Fast forward a few years, my business has grown and I find myself sitting in his classes scribbling notes every opportunity I get as if it were day one of my career all over again. Over time, I had the privilege to serve on the board of directors of this office which mind blowingly led to him and I working alongside each other on a few projects. He always seemed to have all the answers, nothing seemed to rattle him, and it was a privilege to have a front row view of his brain working through a challenge. It was incredible. This was not only about real estate but living life. I will not go as far as saying we were friends. We never spent time together socially yet if I needed it he was willing to be a resource. Although it was rare, if I made a call or sent an email he would get back with me and in his cool, calm, collected, articulate way help me see what I needed to see to move forward.
Jump ahead a few more years and he became ill, disconnected from the real estate world, and went on what appeared to be a mental, physical, and spiritual journey. As time progressed he slowly plugged back into the industry and began teaching, exciting the people that knew who he was and captivating the new agents who had never heard of him. During his time away a lot of things changed. I moved brokerages, I became a MAPS Coach, built a fairly large real estate team and I lost touch. As I write this I wonder if we bumped into each other if he would even recognize me.
Unfortunately, this week he passed away and now he will never know the impact he had on my business and life even though relatively speaking we really only had a handful of meaningful interactions over the 13 years of my career. He will never know the lessons he taught me on day one of my career are now being passed down to the leaders of the 63 real estate teams I coach and that those leaders are passing them down to the agents in their care.
Over the last few weeks the world watched on social media as status updates were posted keeping us current as his condition progressed. If you followed him on Facebook you were along for the journey all the way to his final post just minutes before he passed. This post was made after making what had to be the hardest decision he was ever faced with which was the decision to sign a DNR and remove himself from the medical devices keeping him alive. I personally cannot imagine the strength it took to have the conversation with his spouse and other family members in order to come to the conclusion they did. He was cool, calm, and collected in the face of adversity all the way to the very end even when faced with a mindnimbingly difficult decision. Just as I remembered him to be.
If you’ve read this far, thank you. This wouldn’t be a complete Thursday Thought if there wasn’t a thought provoking question or actionable item so let’s wrap it up with some lessons I learned along this journey.
1: Work expands to the time allowed. Plan your vacations, days off, important events, personal time, and mental / physical health first. Let work fill in what’s left and don’t sacrifice things that can’t be fixed for things that can.
2: This isn’t about selling real estate. It’s about becoming the best version of yourself you can be. When you commit to growing yourself your business will grow as well. Growth isn’t always huge leaps and it isn’t always financial.
3: The purpose of business is to fund the perfect life. Design that life and figure out what the business must do to pay for it.
4: When faced with tough decisions, stay cool, calm, and collected and make the decision that needs to be made no matter how tough it may seem. The right thing is always the right thing.
5: As a leader, you may never know your true impact on the world. Pour into people every opportunity you get anyway. There is someone out there soaking it all up even though you may not know it.
6: If you have a mentor that’s made an impact on your life. Call them. Let them know you appreciate the gift they’ve given you and that you’re doing your best to pass it along.
7: Tell your loved ones how you feel and enjoy every moment of this journey. It can be over at any moment.