Back in the Saddle!

I need to start off today's blog with a big thank you to everybody who has been reading and giving me feedback...I have actually had people tell me that they look forward to reading this every day and that is pretty awesome. The truth is, I love writing it and to have people really enjoy it is pretty cool...so thanks and keep on reading...I promise to talk about things from the heart and hopefully with some occasional humor and maybe a little inspiration here and there...

So today was my first real day back at the ol' real estate game and I knew that if I were to have any success I would need to change my thoughts dramatically...so I did. Over the past few days, I have been trying to gear up mentally for the big return and I came up with a quote that is going to be my new motto...feel free to steal it...unless you have a better motto (which is very possible:))...every morning I am going to start with this thought: "If I don't do everything in my power to make this the BEST day possible...then there is a chance it could be the worst...and I'm not willing to take that risk!"...whoa!...that's some deep shit right there...haha :)

Now, I need to clarify how my day actually goes and to be honest with you, the morning is the only thing set in stone. I wake up and do the "routine" with my son and as soon as I hit the office door it is time to smile, dial and make a pile. I have a computer system that dials every For Sale by Owner, every expired listing, neighbors of homes we have just listed and neighbors of homes we have just sold...not only is it a total grind, but I get rejected more by 10:00 am than most people do in their whole lives, so it can be real hard to stay positive...but if I do (like today) I will get an appointment and will list a home.

The trick is having the right MINDSET and that's my biggest weakness...it's ego (and I'm not alone)...we all have ego issues...we are afraid that if we get rejected or make a mistake that our little egos will be bruised and we will be shamed forever...I struggle with it every single day and my challenge is to GET OVER IT. If I get hung up on by a potential seller, they won't even remember my name in 5 minutes, but I let my mind make such a big deal out of it...I must think they are going to take out a billboard with my picture on it that says "LOSER" under it...where do I get off thinking I'm so important? Do you realize how much our egos hold us back...think of your day to day dealings...you may not speak up at a meeting with a great idea because of fear of rejection...you may not ask the prettiest girl out on a date for fear of rejection...I think the truth is that the pretty girl wants you to ask her out and the boss is looking for a good idea...so let's speak up...F**k our egos! Our egos hate us...let's hate them back :)...whew, I'm glad that's off my chest :)

Now, I'm going to slightly change the subject...I took a phone call at about 1:30 this afternoon and the person I spoke to had said that they read the blog and were inspired by it (I love that)...This person was calling for my advice on a career change...Why me? No idea, but I was more than happy to help. Without getting in too much detail, they were thinking of going into a certain business, but were warned by relatives that it was a bad idea...so they were considering something else now. My first question and what I really want to expand on is "What do those people know about the 'business' and really, who are they to tell you not to do it?" and of course the answer was "Absolutely nothing and I don't know".

Here's what I want to know...Why in the world would we let ANYBODY (spouse, parents, kids, cousins...whoever) get in the way of what we want? Do you know how many people told us we would never leave Michigan?...Lots..."Oh Kev, you'll never leave the car business"...bullshit..."You'll miss everybody too much if you leave!"...Thank goodness for skype :)

Screw the nay-sayers...most people want you to fail...it's a fact of life...misery truly does love company. If you have a plan that you've been waiting to put in motion until the right time...PUT IT IN MOTION NOW! Doors will open up...and your life will change FOR THE BETTER! We've all done it at some point...it works! (this is a side note for the person who called :))

There are millions of people in the world who say to themselves every single day..."If I only knew then what I know now..." and most of them were probably told by somebody else that they couldn't or shouldn't do something. Think about it...What have we got to lose? Nothing (no excuses)!

Alright, enough from me...sorry for the preaching :)...lighter stuff tomorrow...but let's get some momentum going (whatever your plan is...put it in motion). As a matter of fact, we were at a convention not long ago in Las Vegas and the speaker, Mike Ferry suggested we put together a "dream book" or "dream board"...you should definitely make one...it's just a book of pictures of things that you want in life (houses, cars, vacations etc.). If you look at this book every day, these things will start to materialize...I know it sounds like magic right? Actually it kind of is.

True Story (and then I'm done): We have a dream board in our office and it has a picture of a house that we bought from istock photo for our website (www.caulgroup.com) you can see the pic there...it's a totally random picture of a house that we think is awesome, so we put it on our board thinking that one day that's the kind of house we would like. We have no idea what state the house is in let alone what country, but we look at it every day! So we happened to be driving through neighborhoods trying to pinpoint where we want to buy our next house and low and behold we see a house that looks just like the one on our dream board...so we take a picture of it...my wife tells me that it's the same style, but different colors...Guess what? When we got home and loaded the pics on our computer it was the exact same house...same trees...same landscaping..It was THE house and it's only 15 minutes away from where we live...So put together a dream board...just for fun and let's see what happens.

By the way, feel free to comment on any of these posts...this blog is for all of us!

See ya'll...KC